Oliver's birthday! (update 6 of 6)

Oliver's birthday kicked off with chocolate chip pancakes.

Then he opened a few presents in the morning, starting with Madeline's ...

... which was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!

I had to go to work, but Summer took the kiddos on a special birthday trip to the zoo.

Then in the evening Oliver opened more gifts -- like this kilt! ...

... and this book! ...

... and these books! ...

... and this take-apart airplane! ...

... and these dinosaur stamps! ...

... and this train set!

Then it was time for cake.

Happy birthday Oliver!

We capped off the day with chair pictures.  Compare these with this:

Madeline joined in too.

Later in the week, Mommy Camp included a nice walk to the library with the wagon.

Over the weekend, we had Oliver's birthday party!  We started the day picking up provisions -- the kiddos climbed this tree while we waited for a box of coffee from Starbucks.

We had Oliver's party at the same playground as last year.  His friends were so busy running around that there's not good photographic evidence of their attendance.  But this year no one from Madeline's age cohort came, so she was busy with activities like making up "tricks" to do in the tube slide.

For his part, Oliver played!

He deemed the birthday party a success! ...

... and then returned home to play with his train set and Ninja Turtle.

August in Rhode Island (update 5 of 6)

Back at home, Mommy Camp continued -- this time, with both kiddos in attendance.

The week included a fun outdoor art project ...

... with lots of super-fun messiness.

Summer also brought the kiddos to downtown Providence to play.

The kiddos always especially enjoy a visit to Providence's sky bridge.

Mommy Camp also involved harvesting tomatoes from our garden.

Over the weekend, we returned to East Matunuck Beach for an evening excursion.

Again, Madeline wanted to spend the whole time in the water ...

... while Oliver was most interested in the comestibles.

We had such a good time that it was dusk before we left.

Mommy Camp continued.  Summer brought the kiddos to Meshanticut Lake to check out the swans and other waterfowl ...

... then came Oliver's birthday.

Strasburg, White Clay, Longwood (update 4 of 6)

From Grandma Susy and Grandpa John's house in Delaware, we took a day trip to the Strasburg Railroad.

Oliver in particular was very excited about the train ride.

Whether he was sitting next to Grandpa John or Uncle Alex, he was full of smiles.

After the big train ride, the kiddos sat on a kiddo-sized train ...

... and then got to explore the trains at the Train Museum.

That night we picked crabs for dinner.

Oliver wasn't too sure, but in the end, he gave the experience two thumbs up.

The next day, we returned to White Clay Creek to explore.

Oliver (and Uncle Alex) delighted in throwing rocks in the water.

Madeline wanted to see the sights (and admire the butterflies carousing around a crayfish corpse).

Soon enough we were all splashing through the water.

We even found this little live crayfish!

Another day, we went for a nice walk at Longwood Gardens.

The kiddos especially enjoyed spotting this creature -- an axolotl, perhaps? -- in the children's garden.