Aurora and I were long overdue for a Daddy-daughter day, so we went mini-golfing.
She did pretty well for her first time. The course claimed to have the longest mini-golf hole in the world. When we hit our balls they quickly disappeared down a windy path down a hill. Admittedly this was less less impressive than we expected.
Today we went to Fun Spot in Laconia, NH. While Mommy was glued to the Dr. Mario arcade, I took the kids to the bumper cars, which is always a favorite.
The snow has finally melted completely, so today we went to Crazy Kids in Concord, NH and the kids enjoyed the outdoor play area.
Blaise enjoyed the eagle’s nest.
When the kids got chilly, they came inside. Mommy was in her element, knitting and reading simultaneously.
Today, for Cadence’s 10th birthday, she had her first flight lesson.
After 30 min of inspecting the plane and learning long French words, she was ready to fly.
I was in the back seat, and was able to take photos as we flew over our neighborhood.
She got a little motion sick toward the end, but she did really well, and I hope she’ll try again soon.
Today we went to Beech Hill Farm in Hopkinton, NH.
Blaise enjoyed the giant sand pit.
Aurora really liked the bunnies.
Cadence really liked watching the goats.
Then they all enjoyed some ice cream.
Cadence got a new bike yesterday, and the two of us went on a ride to Rockaway Beach.
Today I was reminded about the joy of soda bottle rockets as the kids were watching an episode of The Magic School Bus about air pressure. I decided to build some with the girls.
We used bottles with different shapes. Aurora’s rocket (left) is the Flower Power, using a 2-liter Sprite bottle. My rocket (center) is the Citrus Blaster, using a 1-liter Smart Water bottle. Cadence’s rocket (right) is the the Lightning Bolt, using a 1-liter CocaCola bottle. The fins are made of foam core board and the nosecones are made out of poster board. I used generous amounts of packing tape to attach the parts and protect them from water. By the way, the trick to removing the adhesive left behind when you remove the bottle labels is butter. Just rub butter over the adhesive and then clean with dish soap.
Our launch pad was a small cardboard box I cut a hole in and covered in packing tape. Aurora’s Flower Power rocket flew the highest, Cadence’s Lightning Bolt rocket had the most control. My Citrus Blaster flew the lowest and least straight. Blaise was pretty impressed with the launches, and eager to use the pump some day. Next time we want to try taking slow motion video of the rockets launching.
El Niño has really done a number on Pacifica.
Storms sent waves crashing well over the sea wall.
It was so bad that a section of the sea wall collapsed.
Now that it’s sunny again, we decided to head around the corner to see for ourselves.
The storm created enormous piles of sand where there once was flat beach.
The kids were very happy to finally get out of the house, as they’d been mostly staying indoors with all the rain.
Today was Christmas. Without doubt, our kids’ favorite holiday.
The tree had lots of gifts under it.
Which later turned into a sea of recycling in our kitchen.
