Summer and the first days of school

We had an amazing summer.  The kids are finally old enough that taking them on trips isn't as much of a job as it is fun and enjoyable.  We took two big family vacations and two small me-time vacations. 

I went to Atlantic City with two of my high school friends and left the kids with Mr. D.  We had a great time on the boardwalk and sitting by the pool.  Two weeks later we went to Cape May with two of our neighbors one of whom has a house there.

We drove from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh on July 3rd and spent two nights there.  Having lived in Philadelphia for seven years and not explored much of western Pennsylvania I had come to learn that Pittsburgh is a mediocre city without much to offer in the ways of big city life.  Definitely not a destination.  Maybe because my expectations were incredibly low, or maybe because for the first time sharing a hotel room with our two children was unstressful, dare I say, enjoyable, but I really liked Pittsburgh.  It IS a pretty cool city.  We were there on July 4th and a very nice hotel-employee offered to drive us to the heart of the city where the festivities were taking place.  It was hot, about 96 degrees and not a cloud to be seen.  We dove into the various activities with just-starting-a-vacation enthusiasm.  There was the mist tent, the signing of the Declaration of Independence sand sculpture, "ice" skating on white plastic boards, speed boat racing, lots of food truck food, the incline, crossing rivers over beautiful pedestrian-friendly bridges, looking into the baseball and football stadiums (the Pirates were playing a game while we were wandering around the city and you could look directly into the stadium from the downtown streets -- pretty cool!), and finally, taking a city bus back to our hotel.  We had some delicious Mexican take out, drank a couple Coronas and went to bed.  Great day in Pittsburgh!

Declaration of Independence sand sculpture.

On a bridge in Pittsburgh.

View of Pittsburgh from the top of the incline.

The next day we drove to Michigan where we stayed with friends of ours whose family has a house a block from Lake Michigan.  It was my first time to Michigan, and I knew the lake was big based on the countless times I've looked at a map of our country, but to see the lake in all its massiveness was impressive.  We watched the sun set over the water.  It looked as though we were on the west coast watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.  We went blueberry picking and swam in the lake.  We were there for four days.  Doodle lost his top front tooth and learned to tie his shoes while we were there.

Then we drove to Cleveland, which I had been to twice and knew I liked.  We stayed downtown for two nights and were able to walk to everything we wanted to see.  We saw the second Great Lake of the trip, Erie, walked along the water, went to the amazing science museum there (best museum for adults with kids I've ever been to), had dinner and drinks at a bar/restaurant and got awesome premium cocktails at happy hour prices.  You know how I love a quality bargain. 

At the waterfront in Cleveland.

Happy hour!

We drove back to Philly the next day.  Good quality family time while visiting new places -- I loved it.

Just two short weeks later we were back on the road.  Mr. D flew to LA for a work forum in Rancho Palos Verdes and I drove the kids to Vermont.  The following day I left the kids with my mother and flew out to California to meet up with Mr. D and enjoy the luxurious resort at which his conference was.  I had four uninterrupted days of paradise.  I hiked, sat by the pool, worked out for as long as I wanted, ate good food, drank good drinks, saw two good friends we hadn't seen in years, slept late, watched the Olympics, took my time in the shower, even took a bath!  It was awesome. 

The view from inside a deep cave on the shore not far from the resort.

Mr. D and I flew to Vermont together and were reunited with our kids.  Despite my fears that they, especially Pancake, would resent us for leaving them for four days, they didn't inflict any poor behavior or attitude on us upon our return.  We stayed with my mom for a few days and then went to Colchester (north of Burlington) where we rented a house for a week on Lake Champlain (another "Great Lake").  Again, we visited with old friends, went to a museum, saw my family, including my new nephew who was five months old.  We swam in the lake every day, I rode my bike with the kids in the trailer behind me, we watched lots of Olympics, and drank lots of wine and beer.

Doodle riding a handmade rocking horse in Rutland, VT during sidewalk sales.

Doodle did pretty well.  He dunked the woman three times in row!

Pancake successfully tossing the toilet paper into the bowl.

In Lake Champlain.  The water was really low due to lack of rain.

Doodle and Pancake's shell and milfoil collection on the beach across the street from the house we rented.

Cousins!

Boy cousins!

My father with his children, children-in-law and grandchildren.

When we weren't traveling we swam at the swim club we joined and did various fun Philly things.  Doodle also learned to ride his bike sans training wheels!  I gave him two brief lessons where I held the back of the seat at the beginning of the summer.  Then after we returned from our trips Doodle declared he wanted to ride by himself.  And he did.  Since that day, we've been on three significant rides, the last of which Doodle rode 11 miles (from the Falls Bridge to the Art Museum and back)!

Doodle's first bike ride.  We rode 5 miles along Kelly Drive.

We went to New York City for a weekend in mid-August.  Amazingly, the highs were in the high 70s.

The view of Manhattan from Roosevelt Island.  We took a tram that ran on cables high above the East River to get there.

The kids atop one of those great giant rocks in Central Park.

Today is Doodle's first day of first grade.  He is at a new school this year and his anxiety came with him.  He kept asking Mr. D and me if we thought he was going to do well in first grade.  You would think he hadn't done exceptionally well in his two previous grades (pre-K and K).  He had trouble sleeping last night and was up and dressed at 6:45 this morning.  He bugged Pancake to hurry up and get ready so he wouldn't be late.  We arrived with time to spare and he seemed happy and a little less anxious once we were there. 

Doodle in our yard on his first day of first grade.

Doodle and Pancake on his first day of school.

Last Wednesday was Pancake's first day of pre-school.  She did great.  No crying.  She told us to call her "school girl."

Pancake's first day of pre-school.  She was very excited!

Pancake in her classroom happily playing with blocks!