So July for Curie is all about pony camp at Congressional, this year Erin got her in four times, so she had the chance to really get to ride. We even bought her and Elia cowboy boots so that she could ride with her own boots. Elia got to ride when she was in Great Adventures, so luckily she didn’t feel that she was left out or anything. Curie learned to take care of the horses, trot, and even jump. When it came time for the Camp Luau, every person at pony camp knew Curie and made it a point to interact with her.
Yes, we paid a lot, but the kids had a great time getting lost in the sunflowers. And yes, they sang the song.
Years ago we went to Burnside Farms to pick tulips under the advice from Emma, they do charge per person and then again for each flower you pick. So we went to pick sunflowers at sunset this year and we paid $10 per person plus $1.50 per flower. We realized (and admittedly we should have realized it sooner) that the fee was really for the right to go take photos rather than admission to pick flowers. Pro-tip Brookside Gardens is free. Continue to see more pictures. Continue reading “Sunflowers 2019”
Elia’s catch phrase is “doo-doo face.” It comes from when she makes up words when she can’t think of words to say, but has evolved into whenever she wants to be funny and will tell you you have a doo-doo face or she has a doo-doo face. A doo-doo face is what you think it is, revulsion at a food you don’t like, frustrated face, angry face, a face of annoyance, or of disgust. It is a grimace and a contortion usually followed by a burst of laughter. You can say it to her when she is frustrated and it will make her laugh, Continue reading “Elia July 2019”
During the year, the girls like to wear dresses to school, but at camp they wear camp shirts required by the camp. So last night, when we asked what they wanted for dinner, they said that they wanted to put on dresses and eat somewhere fancy – but not too fancy.
We ended up with Erin matching the kids and Albert getting into a sport coat, and soon we were dressed as we were for Julie and Steve‘s wedding rehearsal dinner. At Clyde’s a tipsy pair of women loved the fact that we looked so cute and took our picture; Lo and behold, our family picture of the week.
June means the end of school and the beginning of camp, and the end of second grade for Curie also means the end of preschool for Elia. The girls went back to the dentist and while Elia was okay Curie had more work to do including losing another tooth. When the day came, and she had her tooth extracted the same day Elia graduated from preschool, they ended up extracting two teeth. It was terrible, and while Curie bounced back the next day, she was miserable even as she was helping celebrate Elia’s graduation. Curie (and Albert) have a fear of the dentist and so the night before Curie went to the dentist, Albert spent some time teaching her box breathing to control her anxiety before going to the dentist. Afterward she told Albert (because Erin takes them to the dentist), that she did the breathing, and hopefully having something to concentrate on helped her that day. Continue reading “Curie June 2019”
I first learned to shoot with a Pearson fiberglass stick bow at Sierra Vista in 1981( George, Maximillian). I bought my first bow (a Bear TD) while at Northwestern in 1989 with Mavis and Frank. In 1996 I went to Arrow Mfg. to get some arrows to show a friend how to shoot. I bought a second hand Yamaha EX to begin shooting competitively even going to Vegas and Indoor Nationals in my first year. In 1997 the family at Arrow Mfg (Shirley, Philip), in their generosity, they let me become a shooter for them without seeing if I could even shoot after I went to their shop every day to look at an emerald Radian riser. At Vegas the next year I made some lifelong friends Brooke), after shooting competitvely for a while I gave up competitive shooting after starting work.
I would collect bows and shoot with friends, family, and colleagues, Bernard, Agnes, Sean, Jon,Octavio, Amjed, and others) and I would buy Erin‘s bow before ever meeting her knowing that we would be an archery family one day. We would shoot with friends and family getting them and their families involved (David, Candace, Librada, Buck, Nancy, Alberta, Michael, Ono, Amy, Levi, Julie, and many others).
Then we had kids, and had to wait until Elia was 5 before we could go. Curie got her bow when she was 5, so did Elia when she turned 5. Today was the first day we went to the range at Ft. Belvoir to shoot. We were afraid the kids wouldn’t like it, we shouldn’t have worried, they LOVED it. That second picture on the bottom of our bows is as much a family picture as the one next to it. I tagged so many people and missed so many more because I realize that archery is a pretty big part of my life)
Tonight we had dinner on our deck with our low table and our Adirondack chairs. We sat out right before sunset with some takeout Japanese/sushi, watched the starlings fly, saw a hummingbird at our feeder, and a nuthatch come by. The sky turned from blue to pink cotton candy to night, and we saw an owl fly to the tree, a dragonfly visit us, and fireflies come to life. No TV, no tablets, no phones, no electronics.
Lest you think it was so idyllic, we sang “that bug is on fire!” Had water bottles to squirt at the fireflies, and lay in wait for any squirrels to come by. A tension was felt by all as we did not know if one of us was going to break out into a squirting war with each other.
Elia’s June was all about graduating from K-Prep at Bright Horizons. Erin’s parents came up for the event and we took pictures and video for Albert’s parents. Unlike Curie, who we kept in pre-school up until she went to kindergarten, Elia will be going to camp this summer with Curie. We have some misgivings since Ms. Chelsea is really doing a better job than Ms. Ariel did preparing the kids for kindergarten, and we worry whether or not the repeated changes will be too much for Elia. On the flip side, learning about the changes and adjusting to them is not a bad thing either. In the end she will be okay, but Albert remembers the days at camp feeling awkward and alone. We also discovered that Elia won’t be with Curie at camp as the kindergartners go to the little school rather than the big campus at Congo Camp (spoiler, it is July and this all works out). Continue reading “Elia June 2019”
