“The best way to keep children at home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant, and let the air out of the tires.”
Dorothy Parker
“Mom, can we borrow something from your closet?”
“That was fun. Hey you guys, what do you want to do next?”
“I’m bored, can we go to the park?”
“Higher!”
Our first week at the lake has come and gone, but it was an event-filled week with our good friends visiting from San Francisco for the 4th.
I’ll keep the talking to a minimum this week because there are lots of pictures to share.
Starting with our last day in New York…Fearing a summer without museums, we spent our last day at The Met followed by a walk through Central Park….
The next morning, we packed our bags, and set off on our 2-month journey…
It’s good to be here. No unpacking, no rush. Just time to settle into a summer full of lawn sprinklers and impromptu dances…
46 comments
At the risk of sounding like a one-trick pony, we had another fun weekend up at the lake this weekend.
In what’s supposed to be an annual event, but doesn’t always happen, our lake plays host to the New Jersey power boat races, which draws racers from all over North America.
Since we’re heading into our fourth summer up there, and have missed this weekend on occasion, it was our first time seeing the event live. And it’s a pretty amazing event, lasting two days. The boats are built like race cars with carbon fiber restraints that keep the drivers safe in case of a crash. As you can imagine, having 2-5 boats on the water at a time makes a ton of noise.
But it’s pretty fun to kick back with a beer or two and watch the event. Since the races were happening right in front of our house, we got to view them from every vantage point, including up on the porch…
…and down on the dock.
I mixed up a batch of Micheladas, my first time giving the recipe a try, and although it wasn’t Rodney’s favorite cocktail, I’m totally hooked. Definitely my new summer drink.
Although the girls lost interest in the boat races pretty early, I had two other viewing companions…
34 comments
We were out for dinner a few weeks ago and the topic of the lake came up, and “yes, the boat is in the water, and oh, the kids will love it, we MADE AN HERB GARDEN!” and suddenly we had 15 people planning to descend on our little home.
Which always makes me happy and gives us an excuse to use our 10+ beds (two rooms have bunks and trundles, please erase any mental pictures of a castle on a hill).
But the best part about hosting for a weekend is that I have every excuse needed to spend 2 days in the kitchen preparing food.
And of course, hunting and gathering at the Union Square Farmer’s market for some treats beforehand.
When we got up to the lake on Friday evening, the kids were eager to check out the herb garden, which despite my black thumb, has grown more lush by the minute.
I realized quickly that animal-shaped watering cans are the key to child labor, and put them to work doing all of the weeding and watering while I oversaw the process with a glass of white in my hand.
We’d just finished watering the herbs when storm clouds gathered above and drenched us with rain while the sun continued to set over the Appalachian trail. It was our first sun shower together, such a beautiful moment.
43 comments
Last week, we were invited to a friend’s birthday dinner, usually cause for celebration, but this time it resulted in a mild panic attack. While getting ready for the evening, I started to question what to wear, something that’s been happening with increasing frequency. Somehow, when I made the decision to leave my corporate job last year, I got sucked into the mom wardrobe vortex of cords, chunky sweaters and other items that can best be described as “comfortable”. Any sense of style was promptly diverted to the unused part of my brain that’s responsible for random childhood memories and bad first dates.
So these days, instead of embracing an evening out, I look through my closet, and think….“Will this outfit look good with these shoes?”
The answer of course being “no”. These heels were bought circa 2009 when gladiator sandals became the shoe of choice for people whom I will kindly refer to as “those who remove their clothes for a living.” Emma modeled them on Saturday morning to remind me that I’m no longer 25 with a questionable taste level. To the Salvation Army they went and I’m at least happy that the worst offending item in my closet is now deceased.
Arrest-worthy outfits aside, the dinner was fun. I sported a sizable headache on Saturday morning, my barometer of a good time. Rodney & I dusted off a family size bag of Thai chili-flavored potato chips for breakfast and hit the road, lake-bound, for what promised to be a beautiful weekend.
Warm weather meant a few firsts for the season…
First dinner outside on the deck….
