Clemyjontri Park

Last weekend, I took Sawyer to Clemyjontri Park, which is an enormous playground not far from our house. The majority of the playground equipment is built to accommodates children with disabilities, but the park is intended for use by all kids.

One of the activities is a large labyrinth -- here's a video of Sawyer working his way through it.



Music: Animal Collective

Ukulele recommendation

Since I know my sister's family might be in the market for new ukuleles, I thought now would be a good time to endorse Flea and Fluke ukuleles.

We have one, and it plays great (as good as the one that cost me twice as much).

They come in fun colors, and because they're made of plastic, they're durable enough to stand up to an occasional horsey ride.

Tour of Sprucewold Lodge

Last post about our trip! As I mentioned, we went to Boothbay and stayed in Sprucewold Lodge, which is an incredible log-cabin style lodge in a beautiful forest above the harbor. The building had a great classic look (the halls reminded us a little of The Shining), it was clean, the food was fantastic, and the staff was very helpful and friendly. We really had a fun time --

Here's Sawyer giving a tour of the lobby:

You'll notice the lobby features both an inside and an outside.

Also, they had funny hats in the dining area.
Which Sawyer refused to partake in.

Maine State Aquarium

While we were in Maine, we went to Boothbay Harbor to meet up with Becky's parents while they were staying there on vacation.

On Monday, we all went to visit the Maine State Aquarium. It's small, but just the right length for a toddler's attention span. Sawyer's favorite part (by far) was the 'Tidepool Touch Tank,' where a museum volunteer allows you to reach into a shallow tank and feel different animals; Sawyer wasn't gentle enough for creatures like starfish and crabs ("CAB CAB CAB!"), so we focused on more sturdy critters like oysters and clams.

Another tank had the biggest lobster ("LOPPER LOPPER LOPPER!") I've ever seen (at 23 pounds, it weighs as much as Sawyer.)

After Sawyer was good and wet from splashing in the tidepool tank, we went outside to watch the boats in the harbor. A very nice day!

Two puddles

We spent the last few days in Boothbay Harbor -- we stayed at the Sprucewold Lodge, which we enjoyed very much. I'll post more photos later (we're packing to head to the airport), but here's a quick video of Sawyer enjoying himself outside.

At camp

We've been up in Maine for the past week. Unfortunately, we've been having such a good time that we forgot to take many photos this year.

We were lucky to be joined for part of the week by our friends Dave, Carrie, and their dog Chase (click to read their report of the week). Sawyer and Chase got along well, and chewed on each other's toys. The rest of us spent our time sitting on the porch or going on frozen custard runs.

For the fourth we had lots of people around - there was swimming, play-doh time, fireworks, a campfire and of course another frozen custard run. We were glad the ginger custard was replaced with strawberry by the time we got there. Jon, Laura, Sophia, Riley and Sam joined us for the night. Laura brought amazing cookies for everyone to share (thanks, Laura!) and Sophia and Riley had an especially good time playing with Philip and Jennifer, our friends from Portland.

Can't wait to do it all again next year!

The most annoying sound in the world

Bonus points for anyone who knows what those are.

*edit: answer in comments.

Memorial Day Weekend

Over Memorial Day weekend, Becky and I went to New York to visit our friends Dave and Carrie. Sawyer stayed behind, and spent half the weekend with Nana and Papa, and the other half with Grandma and Grandpa. Everyone enjoyed their vacations!

Here are some highlights! Sawyer with Nana at Frying Pan Park:
Grandpa playing lifeguard:
Me canoing with Dave. If I look a little rough, it's because the night before was the coldest I've ever been! (camping tip: remember to pack a sleeping bag.)

Here's Dave's report on the weekend.

Political Involvement

Sawyer has not yet given his endorsement to a presidential candidate. However, I went to an Obama rally in Virginia yesterday and dragged Sawyer along because I thought he might enjoy seeing the crowds.

I picked him up from daycare (mid-nap!) at 1:30 and got to the venue at 2 for an event that was scheduled to start at 6. (There were predictions that 50k people might show up, and I wanted to make sure we could sit in the shade.) Because we arrived early, we were lucky to get box seating, which gave us plenty of room to move around.

It was a long and hot day, but Sawyer had a fun time clapping and cheering for the different speakers and musicians. He did a good job sitting and listening, but by the end, he ran out of steam. I had promised him we would leave if he got too tired or hot, so we stayed for about 15 minutes of Obama's speech and headed for the car.

Because we left early, we didn't have any problems with traffic. Still, Sawyer fell asleep before we left the parking lot.

Bicycle

Becky bought a bike trailer a couple weeks ago through Craigslist. It was an easy transaction, and we feel like we got a good deal. It sat in the closet because we needed bike helmets for everyone, it's been rainy, etc...

Sunday afternoon, while Sawyer and I were playing outside (his favorite place), I told him we'd go inside to get the bicycle in a little while. That was a bit of a mistake because:

1. Bicycle is one of his words, and hearing that he was going for a ride with one raised his excitement level to about 110%


2. My bike was upstairs, the trailer was disassembled in the closet and we'd never attached the two
3. I was supposed to be giving Becky a break, and I'd need help with all of the above

After we got Becky on board with the plan, I hauled all the equipment outside, and Becky was able to convince Sawyer to wear his helmet for the first time. When we'd try before, he was quick with an "all-done", but this time he was motivated.

At this point, Sawyer was jumping, shouting and trying to help (pump air, tighten nuts, whatever I had just finished doing.) It took a few minutes but we got the bicycle and the trailer ready. Getting them connected together was another story...

Of course, Sawyer was going crazy during this and trying to climb my bike (We said, "Daddy's bicycle, Sawyer's bicycle," which he repeated).

Eventually, we did all work together to get it assembled. We took a few slow loops in the parking lot and Sawyer enjoyed it, particularly speed bumps.

When we were done, Sawyer insisted on helping Becky push the bike back home.