Thursday, July 28, 2011

Cape Cod Camping

After having such a great time at Nickerson State Park on Cape Cod last June, I put it on my calendar for January to make a reservation for this June.

It was while we were at Nickerson last year that Audrey learned to ride her bike without training wheels. After some reticence Charlotte this spring took to her bike (with training wheels). The campground has paved loops that have very little traffic and what traffic there is moves slowly because the place is full of kids. So we brought bikes for both girls and also Carol's junky old mountain bike which is great for one of us to ride along with them.

After we rode around the loops with the girls a fair number of times I had Audrey demonstrate that she could navigate the turns and remember to stop when passing the loop entrance. Then we brought sidewalk chalk with us on a tour and made signs for the girls on the road indicating where to turn and stop. They seemed to have it down, so we took a leap and let the girls ride without us as long as they stayed together and stayed in the specified loops. They were very successful and loved the independence. What a milestone! This is the first time the girls have been out of our site or hearing while in our care!

On one part of "loop C" there is a small hill. Audrey learned how to stand while pedaling to make it up the hill. Charlotte was leery of the downhill the first time but then decided she loved it and became quit the speed demon going down it.

I think Charlotte rode about 100 laps of the loops with Audrey, and Audrey probably rode 100 more on her own and with other kids she met. They loved it.

There is also a great pond, with a sandy beach about a 10 minute walk through the forest from our campsite. The first day and a half we were there it was cool but then it warmed up and we had several fun swimming sessions. The girls also played in the sand for hours. Audrey had recently been asking for a fishing rod, so we stopped on the way to the Cape and bought her an inexpensive rod and reel. I put weights and a bobber on the line but no hook and showed her how to cast. She was content to do that for long periods; seeing how far she could cast the line (pretty far!).

I had ambitions to explore the Cape a little more this year. For example, I wanted to visit the Cape Cod National Seashore. But every time we talked about leaving the campground to go do something else the girls would protest. We recently heard of a piece of parenting advice from Jack Black: "Don't ever try to make a happy kid happier." We followed that advice, and the girls never left the campground over the entire four days. We only started the van once, when I drove by myself to a nearby town to get take out dinner.

On the last day after checking out of the campground we finally did some "Cape stuff". We ate breakfast at The Pancake Man, played a round of mini golf and then as we left the Cape we visited Four Seas Ice Cream and enjoyed delicious handmade strawberry ice cream (made with fresh strawberries).

The trip was a great success and we will definitely be doing it again next June.

A day after returning home we departed for Seattle. That'll be the subject of the next post or two once I get the photos organized.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Charlotte's Pre-K Class

Charlotte's Pre-K teachers were kind to send home a DVD with a collection of photos they had taken throughout the year. It's fun to see Charlotte's classmates and activities. Charlotte really loved Pre-K and had a couple of very good friends. Her best friend is Caroline.

While she enjoyed her two years at the Franklin Early Childhood Center, Charlotte is even more excited about being a Kindergartner at Roosevelt - the same School as Audrey - this fall.