Afternoon at the Park

Nate and Sean went with mom and dad to a local park yesterday afternoon to visit with some friends and to have a little cookout by the lake. It was the same park dad used to go to when he was a little boy, and it was still pretty much the same all these decades later! It has a small train that meanders along the lakeside and through the woods. Nate didn't like the tunnel very much but he thought the steam whistle was pretty cool.


Next they went on the carousel. Mom got to ride along while Nate and Sean went up-and-down on their horses. Mom thinks that maybe next year Sean will be big enough to not require parental supervision so maybe this is her last ride! She seemed OK with that.


After all that fun it was time for ice cream. Sean mastered the "no drip" technique but he still has a way to go on the whole clean face concept.

Bubbles, Bubbles, Try to Make them Pop

Sean loves bubbles. He also loves to pop them. Sometimes he tries to catch them on the blowing wand before they pop, then pop them himself with a well-placed finger. He's pretty good at being able to run across the entire yard before the bubbles hit the ground.

Here is Sean's patented backhand move. He can wave that wand back-and-forth until a wall of bubbles blows across the yard. Mom got him an industrial size bottle of bubble solution to keep him busy for hours. Still, he goes through the stuff in record time.



Now Sean is reaching for one of those elusive bubbles so he can to capture it on his wand. Before he puts it out of its misery he likes to walk it around the yard and show it off to anyone who may be nearby, whether mom, dad, Nate or even a neighbor who happens to be strolling by randomly at the appropriate time. He's very proud of his well-practiced technique.

That plastic box hanging from his neck is a bug cage. Sean thinks the worms and rollie pollies he's caught throughout the day should be able to enjoy the fun, too!

Nate Can Skate

Nate went to ice skating camp last week. Mom and dad were a little worried that he might not like it because he's happiest when things go perfectly and predictably, and of course nobody can learn to skate without falling down a few times. It was nice that he had enough of his friends in the class to offer encouragement (and fall down along with him) to show that it was OK. By Wednesday the instructors were teaching him to skate backwards! Friday afternoon ended with a performance with a Star Wars theme. Here's Nate backstage with his light saber ready for the big show -- no stage fright or pre-performance jitters for him!


All the kids from his class went onto the ice to show off their new skills. Dad was happy to see the performance because he'd been stuck in rush hour traffic for almost two hours. Silly daddy thought two hours would be plenty of time to get fifteen miles, but he arrived barely in time to see Nate go onto the ice. Nate was very relieved when dad arrive.


Nate must not have gotten a big enough of a snack before the show because he thought eating his mitten was a good idea. He must have been pretty comfortable on the ice though, because apparently he didn't need that arm for extra balance. By the end of the week he was fairly competent on the ice for a brand-new beginner and he'll probably go back for more classes. Fortunately the rink is less than a mile from the house. It's used as a practice facility by an NHL hockey team so it's in great shape, and it's open to the public when the team isn't using it.