Happy New Year

Tis the season to dress the family up and take pictures. Here are some keepers from the Rosh Hashanah weekend.

Born Free... Part 2 (and 3)

Our family increased by 9 over the summer.

7 butterflies and 2 hermit crabs.

The butterflies were part of a live butterfly kit that Stella got for her birthday. 10 caterpillars showed up at the cottage in August via UPS. Within a week 7 had turned into chrysalises. They survived a car trip back to Brooklyn and, on the first day of school, began to hatch into beautiful butterflies. Within a couple of days all 7 had hatched.

Meanwhile, while at Old Orchard Beach we managed to be gifted two hermit crabs (purchased from a nearby store). The girls loved them and enjoyed having them crawl all over them (which really creeped me out). But keeping hermit crabs is not easy. One had even escaped for the better part of a day and was eventually found hiding behind a large chair. After that, I convinced Stella and Marni that letting them go free was the nicest thing they could do.

So today was "Back to Nature" day.

First we released the butterflies in a flower garden across the street. It was very sweet.

Next we drove to Coney Island and released Crawly and Baby into the surf near a rock jetty. A little less sweet, but they are now in a better place (and I got to have some Nathan's hot dogs and the girls got to ride some rides).

A win-win-win situation.

Afterwards the girls were a little sad, and Stella was giving me the evil eye. She was a little pissed off that I keep making them get rid of their pets. I promised her that when we get a cat or dog, I won't insist that they let it go into the wild after a few weeks.

I think she bought it.

Back to School 2012

Our new 1st grader and our new 3rd grader headed back to PS 39 on September 6th, equipped with stylish haircuts, new lunchboxes, and just the right amount of attitude.

Stella was psyched because she had just learned a few days before that her teacher was changed to the awesome Ms. Pisino (who she had for part of her kindergarten year). Stella disappeared into the school without a moments hesitation.

We then took Marni to Camp Friendship (the gym in a nearby building) where 1st and 2nd graders were assembling. Marni's teacher was new to PS 39 (Ms. Ambrose). We greeted old kindergarten friends as we waited for everyone to march across the street and into the school. There was a slight hesitation from Marni, but she went into the school with a smile and no tears.

The results from day 1... Stella said that 3rd grade was awesome. Marni has indicated that the jury is still out.

179 more days to go.

The Maine Event 2012: Final Wrap-up

Marni appears to want to eat the chrysalis

This week Nana and Papa picked me up at the airport on Friday and whisked me off to JC Penny where Stella and Marni were getting their free haircuts with Lisa. Luckily, they were ecstatic with the results and Lisa was removed from haircut probation.

When we got back to the cottage it was time to work on our science experiment... Stella's live butterfly kit. For the past week we had been watching the caterpillars crawl around in their houses and, eventually, turn into chrysalis. Now I needed to transfer the chrysalis into the enclosure where they would soon emerge as beautiful butterflies.

After we finished with science time, we needed to figure out what to do with the rest of the day... a day that really wasn't much of a beach day. The girls and I took a vote and movie won over bowling. So off we went to see "Paranorman" (which was not quite as good as daddy had hoped).

Saturday ended up being a great (final) beach day and we took full advantage of it. We even got Nana Bev and Cousin Beverly onto the beach. Marni continued to amaze us with her new found love for the waves as she body surfed and boogie boarded like a champ. In the evening, Lisa and I headed to a lovely dinner with our cousins Elise, David, Beverly, Jim, and Janet. Meanwhile, Stella and Marni were testing the babysitting chops of cousin Lily and her friend Emily. Somehow we ended up with two live hermit crabs by the end of the night (purchased by Lily for the girls).

Sunday was a dreary packing day. Stella and Marni hung out with Lily and Emily as we packed up the car and cleaned up the cottage. We had our last meal at Ken's, said goodbye to the beach and family and friends, and headed for Natick. Coincidentally, dinner was also at Ken's... but Ken's Steak House in Framingham with Toots and Glenn.

Planting the rose

On Monday we planted another rose plant in Nana and Papa's back yard (joining last year's thriving rose plant) and then jumped into the car for a speedy and uneventful drive back to Brooklyn. Just the 13 of us (3 humans, 1 Marni, 2 hermit crabs, and 7 butterfly chrysalis).

The kids were genuinely happy to be back home. Stella commented how happy she was to be back in the nice air conditioned air. Marni mentioned how happy she was not to have to smell the stinky, salty sea air.

What can I say? They're weird. 

So what were the highlights of the 2012 season at OOB?

• Beautiful weather. Only 1 or 2 rainy days.
• Biking kids. Both girls can now ride their bikes with mom and dad. They even did a 5 mile bike ride!
• Independence. Both girls shower themselves, dress themselves and generally take care of their selves without much input from mom and dad.
• Too much independence! By the end of the summer Stella and Marni were making the trek between the cottage and the beach, and between our cottage and Beverly's cottage by themselves. Not sure how I feel about that.
• Swimming. Stella and Marni are well on their way to become great swimmers.
• Lobster! Stella's new favorite meal... twin lobsters.
• New fire pit. Great for s'mores.
• New sofa and new rug.

Now another great summer at OOB comes to an end. Thanks to all our great visitors for bringing even more joy into the house. Thanks to Lisa for taking care of everything. Thanks to Linda for all her hard work beautifying the grounds of "The Compound". And thanks to Nana and Papa who make this all possible.

And before we know it we'll be packing up Goldie and doing it all over again next summer. Can't wait!

The final dig

Hermit crab

Stella at the beach