Summer Vacation

Well, my summer vacation is drawing to a close and as soon as my car is out of the shop we will be heading back to Illinois. Zac and I had a great month at the beach! We did tons of visits with family and friends (including his two remaining great-grandparents, one 96 and one 98), walked on the beach and played in the water and sand, picked wild raspberries, swung on the swings and slid down the slide at the playground within walking distance, played and played and played some more, cooked together, and read books.

We made play dough and a rainstick sensory bottle and Grape Juice Squares and we baked cakes and Hot Cross Buns.

We squeezed lemons and made Perfect Lemonade from scratch.

We had a dance party on the day it poured down rain (5 1/2 inches) and then went out and jumped in puddles after the rainstorm ended.

We watched chickens run around in a friend’s yard and looked for tadpoles and listened to Old Grandfather Frog say chugarum.

We hiked Laurel Loop on the American Chestnut Land Trust, visited the Annmarie Sculpture Garden and the Calvert Marine Museum, cruised on the William B. Tennyson, played at the tire playground at Calvert Cliffs State Park, and walked through the Battle Creek Cypress Swamp.

We went down to the beach on the Fourth of July and watched the fireworks displays all around the Chesapeake Bay and even had some go off right over our heads!

We went to a crab feast and Zac learned how to pick crabs.

We watched a horseshoes tournament, went to an ice cream social and a pancake breakfast and an International Potluck (not all at the same time), and ate a picnic dinner and listened to a band play at the Concert on the Green. Zac spent an earnest evening there at the Softball Field very happily filling a construction cone with dried grass, along with his friend Thaddeus. Zac also participated in his very first Community House Game this year: the Egg & Spoon Race for the 5 and under category.

And we relaxed.

I learned how to play cribbage this summer, which made me very happy. I also took my Real Script class via Zoom with Rebecca Loveless and spent the month practicing my new penmanship! I also got to sit down and actually read some of my new books. I don’t have much time to read at home!

Putting Pen to Paper:
A New Approach to Handwriting

Scientists’ Cliffs always has a big Auction every summer and this year, because the car broke down, we were here for it. I am definitely leaving with more than I brought with me, including

two bookcases
a terrarium
a child size snow shovel
a guitar for Becca
two easels
Ravensburger Alphabet Zoop
Haba Socken Zocken
dominoes
a sound cannon
a bird feeder
a stock pot
two loaf pans
two spray bottles for the mud kitchen
wall art
a pincushion
a box of buttons
a Pampered Chef ceramic baking dish
two huge pinecones
three candleholders
a whisk and a ladle for the mud kitchen
two baskets
some fabric
a bag of old-fashioned clothespins

We got a ton of stuff and only spent $5.00!!!! If you go the next morning, all of the things which haven’t yet sold are available for free, so that’s pretty amazing. We were right up there at 9 am, looking around to see what was left over. Zac got the two things he really wanted, which were a BIG ride-on Tonka fire truck and a green child-sized John Deere wheelbarrow. He was so pleased. The Auction was the perfect wrap-up to our time here.

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