team building, a moat i think
bugs at the arb
building a dam
grandma and da boys
me and da boys
we've done a few fun field trips with the warm up over the past couple weeks. probably the collective local favorite is north avenue beach. the day was windy (we were literally exfoliated by whipping sandy winds from the east) but our desire for beach fun overcame that and the cold water temps for a couple of hours. the arboreteum was a huge hit too, especially with grandma carol's guidance. we were there for several hours and g'ma helped the boys discover tadpoles and taught ethan how to catch one! she also initiated an andy goldsworthy rock design, which even roped in a couple of river bullies who were previously throwing rocks and marking territories. kola came up with an interesting experiment - testing different-sized rocks to see which the current could push off an immersed flat rock. so much fun to see the discoveries and to pal around with grandma.
kola and ethan started kiddie camp this week and have been playing school ever since. they each walk around with a backpack (ethan's with camping gear and kola's with a leappad - er his computer) and they take the bus to school (ethan's desk) and do a project, then turn it into me (mrs. holzwarth, ethan's former and kola's future concordia teacher.) they're both getting ready for school this fall. they've generally been playing well together which is great timing for me, since i need to clear out the china cabinets and strip wallpaper from our dining room in prep for a room 'redo.' if i get pressed for time, i'm sure kola and ethan would love a crack at the wallpaper too!
more as soon as my camera software is reinstalled:) xo b/s/e/k
