The kids at Prairie Ridge

On Saturday, Zac took the kids to Prairie Ridge Eco-station. From the looks of it, they had a great time playing near the creek, climbing cliffs, and checking out the prairie and pond.

  

Alice and Simon's art

Top: Picture by Alice

Bottom: Picture by Simon (with some coaching from Grandpa Shogren)

My Little Pony

Alice loves watching My Little Pony cartoons, especially with her little ponies.

Front-yard photos with our three kids

 

  

The Great Labor Day Camp Out

Sometime in the spring I had booked our sites for three camping trips this summer. For the last one of the summer, I had reached out to some of the daycare crowd parents to see if they would be interested in joining us at Jordan Lake for a summer finale. Three families took us up on the offer: Chris and Lukas, Jess and Anna, and Robyn, Franklin, Oscar, Felix and Xavier. We had seven kids and six adults spread over three adjacent water-front campsites. We all kind of did our own thing for meals, but usually congregated around a single campfire in the evenings. The weather was wonderful, the water was warm, the beach was broad, and the little ones were all loving it.

DAY 1

  

DAY 2

DAY 3

Site #34

Grandparents' visit

Simon's school was closed on Thursday and Friday, so grandma and grandpa Shogren came down for a visit this week and watched Simon so we wouldn't have to take off work. It's always good for Simon to get some personal attention, since Alice usually dominates.

Nelson made a gazillion paper airplanes for Simon which they flew off the deck. They also went to the park a lot and rode bikes. They waited at the bus stop with Alice in the morning and they kept her occupied in the evenings. Nelson even helped Zac with some projects.

 

Bomb Pops for Little Bear

Over the summer, I had Alice reading a Little Bear book, so that she wouldn't completely forget how to read between kindergarten and first grade. She really hates reading, and finds it nearly impossible when she is tired or not in the right state of mind (which is most of the time.) Given these challenges, I was hoping to somewhat self-motivate her, so I told her she could buy herself a treat from Harris Teeter when she finished the book.

Somehow it took her about two months to read, but she finally finished it, and selected a box of Bomb Pops.