Heading West

One of the most exciting aspects of moving to a new area has been all of the exploring that we have been able to do. And what better place to explore than the Northeast? I never know when life will change, from a relocation to a teenager who refuses to race from one outing to another, so I always feel like we must run while we can! Last April the kids had a week off of school for Spring Break. For us, life seems to run smoother when we have a plan. So I looked at a map of the area and choose a trip to the Berkshires. (I figured that I could handle a week alone with the kids, as long as we were close enough from home that we could abandon our plan at any moment and drive home, or, in dire circumstances, Steve could come rescue us! We ended up enjoying every moment of the week and stayed the whole time.) The Berkshires, which is two hours from our house, is the western most strip of Massachusetts, along the New York border. In the twenties, the Berkshires was similar to Newport, Rhode Island, with summer "cottages" built by millionaires springing up from one hill top to the next. Now, little highways string quaint towns together and picturesque farms, chapels and country stores can be found around each bend. In addition, with a swimming pool, a game room, a trip to the baseball hall of fame and plenty of stops at the ice cream shop thrown in for good measure, the kids had a great time. 

Day One

           

On our way west, we drove along the Mohawk Trail, one of America's scenic highways. Our first stop was at Historic Deerfield, a restored colonial town. We learned how to bake cookies in an open hearth, dressed up in colonial attire, painted tea cups and filled tea bags.

Our next stop was the Yankee Candle Factory, where we watched old fashion beeswax candles being dipped and then chose our own molds and dipped candles for ourselves. I let each child pick out three scented votives from a selection of hundreds, to bring home. We left with fruit smoothie, clean cotton, root beer and fresh grass scents, to name a few.  

Our last stop for the day was Shelburne Falls. 

Day Two

Each morning we swam at the condo. Annelise swam the entire length of the pool and Sophia learned to swim all around the swimming pool with a life jacket on by herself -- a prerequisite for joining us at Northcrest this summer. After swimming, the condo offered a hot dog BBQ. 

We brought our bikes, strapped on the back of the car. We rode along one of Massachusetts many rail trails.

Ezra devoured his first ice cream cone at our new find, Crispy Cones. (99 flavors of soft serve!)

Day Three

We drove two hours west to Cooperstown, the birthplace of baseball! Cooperstown gives a new meaning to "in the middle of nowhere!" Isn't there a classic baseball phrase in the movie Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come?" It definitely applies to the Baseball Hall of Fame!

Jonathan loved the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Jonathan broke the daily record at the batting cages in pitching averages . . he couldn't have been more excited!

Day Four

Our first adventure of the day was Hancock Shaker Village.

 

The round stone barn had just been filled with baby spring animals for the children to pet and pansies in the window boxes.

We stopped in Stockbridge, a quintessential New England town and the home of Norman Rockwell. We visited the Norman Rockwell Museum, marveled at the entire collection of the Saturday Evening Posts that his paintings graced the cover of, and even met a docent that happened to be the model for some of his paintings. We visited his studio but, unfortunately we couldn't go inside because it was off season.

Day Five

We created musical instruments and preformed them at the MoCA (Museum of Contemporary Arts) in North Adams.

We then created art project after art project. (I think Sophia has had enough fun for one week!)

We stopped at the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst on the way home.

After this year's successful trial run, next spring break, we just may venture down to Williamsburg or the Outer Banks. Hopefully Steve will be able to join us next time. We missed him!     

Warming Up

With only three Saturdays available in New England with Steve this summer, we are determined to use each and every one wisely. So after a morning of yard work that just couldn't be ignored and an afternoon of piano performances, we tossed the beach chairs and sand buckets into the car and headed to Cape Ann. 

We arrived in Gloucester at five, just as the snack shop was closing and the parking attendant was locking up. We timed it perfectly! The crowds were heading off the beach, just as we headed on. (And parking was free!) We flipped off our sandals and slipped off our clothes.

 

Emilie, Jonathan and Annelise grabbed their nets and headed to the tide pools. 

Sophia and Ezra stayed close, digging their toes in the sand, filling buckets with water and chasing the birds. For the next three hours, we caught crabs and dug for sand dollars, built castles, and watched sail boats. 

The tide was as far out as it could go and the highlight of the evening was wading to a sandbar that was suddenly exposed. We had a new little island, almost all to ourselves. We played until dark, loaded up the car and headed to a nearby fishing village to look for dinner. 

                        

We settled for Top Dog's, a gourmet hot dog joint. (According to them, the best  dogs in America! How could we pass it up?) Steve ordered the German Shepherd Dog, a hot dog with sauerkraut, I ordered the Blood Hound Dog, one with BBQ sauce and grilled onions, and ironically, the kids ordered clam chowder. Afterward we found the cutest little ice cream shop perched out over the sea. Our little jaunt North proved worth every effort!        

Two for One

After years of planning Emilie's and Annelise's  birthday parties in that unpredictable "in between" season, where you don't know if you should prepare for sleet and whipping wind or 80's and 90's, the girls decided to wait it out and experience a cross your fingers, almost guaranteed backyard water party. We looked at the calendar and the two spots available were just four days apart. Despite my hesitation, I was reminded again of the benefits of throwing two bashes back to back: one trip to the grocery store, one phone call to the semi-entertainer/semi-caterer, one birthday invitation template, one afternoon filling water balloons and one party planning brainstorming session. Our criteria for success was simply that there would be no injuries and no rain. According to us, the party was a hit. And as a bonus, the girls had a blast! 

 We began the excitement with water games. "Drip, drip, drop", which is similar to "duck, duck, 

goose" except for a drip on each girls' head or a full cup of water dropped on one girl's head, initiated the girls into an afternoon of water fun. The anticipation that each girl felt while waiting for a big splash of water was punctuated with shrieks and yelps. We figured that we couldn't have a water party without the classic water balloon toss. Unlike last year's backyard party with 17 first grade boys, no fights broke out about which team won and who cheated. Thankfully, these crowds were much more refined. Our next event was the relay. Two teams raced to fill up a bucket with water balloons. The challenge: each girl was required to run, crawl, jump, ride, shoot and shimmy over, through and under a variety of objects while holding a water balloon. There was a slight disagreement on which team won. I held my breath until it was announced that it was unequivocally a tie. After all, what would I do with a backyard full of unhappy girls? There was a moment of silence, and then a chorus of "Okays" and "all rights" and a release of tension by all. Gotta love those girls!

One tradition that we left in Salt Lake two years ago was playing "heavy, heavy hang over thy poor head", giving each girl a wish and then tearing open your gift. Here, the culture is that you wait until after your party to open your gift, respectfully with your family. In an attempt to revive an old custom, each birthday girl stood under the basketball hoop and each guest recited, "heavy, heavy hang over. . .", tossed the balloon through the hoop, and onto Emilie's or Annelise's head. In turn Emilie and Annelise wished each girl that they would be in their class next year, be given a pet kitten, or some other sweet dream.

Just as the games ended, "The Entertainer" could be heard through the neighborhood, growing louder and louder as the ice cream man got closer and closer to our house. The girls raced to the front yard as the Juniper Farms ice cream truck pulled into our drive way. 

The party resumed with screams and howls as the girls slid frontwards, backwards, head first, back up or tummy up down the water slide. (The Costco water slide has been chalked up as a successful purchase over and over again.)  

Emilie and Annelise said their thank you's and good byes and presented each girl with a party

favor. It was sidewalk chalk and Sweet Tarts for the kindergartners and summer baseball hats and a stash of assorted candy for the older girls. 

                                              

Can't wait 'til next year!