Every year we go to the beach, we have such beautiful sunsets and clear night skies.
We sit by the fire, look up, and have absolutely no idea what we are looking at!
This year, I thought it might make it a little more interesting if we learned a bit more about the stars and the night sky.
I found an amazing planetarium in Rochester. We took a family day trip, and went to see two presentations: Our Night Sky, and The Planets.
It was amazing! We settled into our reclined seats, the sun set and our lessons began!
We learned that the Earth is as close to Mars as it has been in over twenty years. Also, that there are four planets visible in the sky over the summer.
It was a lovely afternoon and Dyleva was really into it.
After we walked to the bridge of the Genessee River.
We had lunch at the Dinosaur BBQ. We are ready for some stargazing on the beach!
We name our parks.
Sometimes it corresponds to favorites.
My park is Reinstein Park.
So today we went to Mommy's park.
We know it well.
It is quite beautiful.
We like to see how many different animals we can encounter in an outing.
Today, we were not let down.
This park is infamous in our world for the stunning lillypads that blossom the height of summer.
Today was no different.
However, we encountered an interesting scene.
We came upon a deer, eating the lilly pads!
Quite extraordinary!
We continued on with our beautiful nature walk.
Eventually, we rested to picnic, and entertained a special guest that was driving by.....DADDY!!!
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/photo/113530525965696642919/6596486848012403026
This year we cut back on the family birthday parties.
Traditionally, we have a big family party for Eva in June, and one in July for Dylan.
Tent, catering, decorations, etc., etc.
$$$$
We spend at least the week before, preparing the yard and house; and days upon days after, cleaning up and putting away.
Not to mention it monopolizes two summer days for our friends and family.
We have downsized to friend parties; hosted at an alternate location.
 |
| Dyl at Rocky's |
Eva was upset last year. But this year, they have both embraced it, because they get to pick where they have the friend party and however many friends they would like to invite.
But it occurred to me, why couldn't we have one week long playdate to celebrate their birthdays?
And that is what happened.
We rented a bounce house for 3 days, although we had it for 6 days.
Every day was a party at our house. We hosted, the kids swam and then bounced. We were blessed with a gorgeous week of sunshine and warmth.
Dyleva ended up with a win-win situation!
We were in Eva's room the other day.
I was looking at all her toys.
"Eva, it's a shame. You have all these wonderful toys and you never play with them."
She stopped and looked at me.
"When do I have time? We are never home! We are always doing stuff."
And then I realized how right she was.
I have been so busy playing Supermom; keeping them busy and exposing them to everything, that I forgot the most important element.
Play!
So we "scheduled" some time to play.
And I laid off a bit on the over scheduling.
Dyleva has both been on this field trip with their class...an elusive Hidden Valley.
I was determined to find out what it was.
It was only 40 minutes away; yet I had never been.
How could I not know about it?
So I researched it and made plans to visit it. Invited friends of course.
When I got there, I completely understand why my ninos had been there on a field trip.
You shuffle your entire group onto a trolley, and then they take you on a 50 minute tour of the reserve to observe and feed the animals. Smart suburban teachers.
Meanwhile, I'm on a field trip at the Buffalo Zoo yelling at Enrique and Shaniqua to not climb into the lion's den.
Anyway.
What a fabulous, beautiful place.
We met up with Titi and Tia Lisa. Each brought their own ninos as well.
We began with some animal exploration and goat visiting while we waited for our trolley.
All the animals are herbivores.
Thank goodness.
We had cups of feed to use during the tour. But beware; some of the animals like to eat the cup!
Loved it. Laughed a lot.
Despues, we had a picnic on the lovely grounds.
I was content that I had finally discovered the Hidden Valley.
