This post is a little late, but better late than never, right?
The Sticker Monster attacked one evening. Good thing we have so many of these stickers! They're "reward" stickers that we got a while back and haven't really used much.
Bennett then removed them from his face, threw them away, and asked for more, some of which went back on his face.
As previously mentioned, Bennett's school had race car week. So here he is in his car that he made.
"Reading" the paper one night consisted of him strewing newspaper all over the floor in a couple of different rooms. Messy, but he sure was happy!
Anyone need a cucumber? I have more plants than normal because I wanted to try making pickles, but this is way more than I can handle! Bennett and I can only eat so many of them. I did make some pickles (I'll know in a week or so if they're any good) and then I ended up giving a bunch away. And then I went back in the garden a day or so later and there were more to pick. I think I'm growing 3 different types which is why they are all different sizes.
And speaking of cucumbers, here's Bennett "peeling"a knit cucumber that I made. He doesn't play with them all that much, but I have a basket of knit vegetables that he brought outside one night.
On Saturday and Sunday Sturbridge had an event called Redcoats and Rebels. We told Bennett that there would be lots of people there in costumes. He asked if there would be a parade. Since there was a procession to the battlefield on the schedule we said that yes, there would be a parade.
So when we got there and saw these musicians at entrance, he asked if they were in the parade. Nope, but he definitely enjoyed watching them and listening to them.
Here he is clapping after a song.
We arrived shortly before opening, so we stood in line to get in. Once we got in, many of the reenactors seemed to still be getting settled. Here were a bunch of redcoats practicing marching.
We watched this group for a while as they were being inspected. Just before they were dismissed, they were told to "mill about smartly".
Bennett a bit confused by everything. Chris told him, "This is the weekend where Mummy and I are conflicted." Being Anglophiles we would normally support the British, but when we wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for the Colonists we wonder if maybe we should be supporting them instead.
There were numerous cannon demonstrations throughout the day.
And more fife and drums as well. Here's Bennett watching the performers.
Uncle Andrew joined us a little later in the day. Here he is holding Bennett as Bennett plays his own "fife". We're trying to decide if we're crazy enough to get him a real one for his birthday.
After lunch it was time for the battle. We didn't stick around too long. It's hard to understand what's going on, and it was pretty boring for Bennett. Not to mention it was long past nap time.
Plus our day was going to get even busier as we had a party to get to! There was a pool which we avoided for a while (it was slightly chilly) but Bennett really wanted to go in. Luckily Kelly was willing to go in with him. Of course shortly after he got in the water it started to rain.
And here's a blurry picture of him jumping in, just before they got out due to the rain.
And then on Sunday we just relaxed at home- mowed the lawn, vacuumed out the car (lots of raisins, cheerios, etc), took a long nap, watched some Curious George, and then a quick trip to Target.
The week was a little wonky with the 4th of July holiday on a Thursday. Bennett wrapped up school for the week on Wednesday. Lots of patriotic crafts were made this week! They made fireworks (painted the tips of Q-tips and glued them on black construction paper), foot/handprint flags, and colored the Statue of Liberty below and also Uncle Sam who is further down this post.
On the 4th we decided to go to Sturbridge. It was HOT, but still a good time. Visiting the cooper shop seems to be a new tradition of Bennett's and he always wants to sit down on this bench to give it a try.
While we were in the cooper shop we found out more about the "save the sawmill" fundraising campaign. We are all for saving the sawmill, but none of the information really said what exactly we were saving. (unlike last year's gristmill project which was to repair the water wheel). Turns out the roof and some of the rafters are pretty rotted and need to be replaced. With a deadline of October we keep wondering when they are going to get started on the repairs.
When we were down at the farm Bennett pet a chicken!!! This is huge for him because he normally doens't want to pet animals. He could have pet the calf but he wanted nothing to do with that. One of the women was holding the chicken though so I wonder if that had something to do with it. Maybe she was much more approachable (and cat-like) that way?
We made our way back to the center village and noticed Rhys (the employee) heading into Doc and Blue's pen. He hitched them into the yoke and then started brushing them. Once they were good and brushed he started walking them around to tire them out a bit before the procession
We decided to have a picnic lunch out on the common. As we were eating Bennett kept asking where Doc and Blue were. Luckily they were usually somewhere in eyesight.
We also got to meet Lance and Henry. Ever wonder which is which when you hear the names of a pair of animals? Well, when they are hitched up, the first name always refers to the one on the right (when you look at them in this direction.) We also were wondering how we would be able to tell them apart when they weren't hitched up and we discovered that Henry has the horns that stick out like a Longhorn. (With Doc and Blue, Doc's horns point down.)
Sturbridge is a fun place to visit on the 4th because the families of the employees are welcome to come and be costumed. This is a great way to get some extra kids in costume. A small group of kids went to the school, and this group became a mini-militia who got a crash course in musket handling.
Finally it was time for the procession!
Please excuse the jitteriness of the video, especially at the beginning. Lots of waiting around for a procession that took less than two minutes!
And then afterwards Bennett kept talking about Doc and Blue in the parade.
When the procession had made its way back to the common it was time for a Naturalization Ceremony. How neat! (There had been increased security and bag checks to get into the village because of this.) Unfortunately it was about nap time and Bennett didn't want to stay still and be quiet so we missed most of the ceremony. But imagine our surprise when we ran into Uncle Andrew and Aunt Gentry while on the way to the bathroom! We chatted for a bit and then headed out.
We made a quick stop in the playground area because they have more cut-outs.
Back at home it was a continuation of a car nap and then when he woke up we went outside to cool down. Befitting the holiday, Bennett had a patriotic swimsuit in his pile of hand-me-downs. We went outside and played in the pool. I'd given him some balls made of cut up sponges as well as some shower poofs and he had lots of fun playing with those. (The next day he learned he could thrown them at Mummy and Daddy to get them wet.)
There's a saying that when growing corn on the cob it should be "knee high by the 4th of July" so I had to climb onto my garden bed to test this out. Perhaps for the 1st time in the 4 or so years I've tried growing corn, it's actually higher than my knees!
And to wrap yo the holiday, here's a blurry Uncle Sam costume from school.
This summer Bennett will be spending some extra time with Daddy. This gives them some extra bonding time but also helps our budget out a bit. So on Friday Bennett stayed home with Daddy and played. (This is his Duplo "house".)
And here's Bennett reading a circular and telling Daddy about all the tools that he should buy.
On Saturday we decided to go to the Children's Museum. Our membership expires at the end of the month and we haven't used it nearly as much as we should.
Once of the features of the museum is a 3-storey climber. We thought Bennett would love it. We were wrong. The first time he tried it there were a bunch of other kids around so we thought that was the problem- he didn't want to push past them. So we tried it again later, but nope. Not sure what the problem was. Usually he's a pretty active and adventurous guy. Maybe he just didn't understand it? Still too many people? Who knows.
Instead we checked out some other areas such as creating power by riding bikes or walking around in a circle.
Then we went upstairs and he got to play in the store. Using the cash register was lots of fun.
In the construction room he got to check out the Bobcat.
Daddy got to be a construction worker.
And Bennett was a welder.
In the gift shop Bennett discovered the selection of Curious George toys. He even took one of the stuffed George's around to show him some of the other toys.
On the way back to the car we stopped at the Fire Museum. It's just a small place with a couple of engines but Bennett was allowed to climb up on this one.
And speaking of fire stations, on Sunday (which we spent at home) Bennett played with some of Daddy's Legos. This was a set that Bennett had gotten Chris for Father's Day. Not only is it a big firestation, but it also has a couple of trucks and a helicopter. Bennett's still a little young to play with this, but he had fun.
And I'll wrap up this post with a video of Bennett directing Doc and Blue around the house. It's mostly him (at the end) saying "Doc, back". This is because while we were watching the oxen Doc kept trying to move away and Rhys had to keep telling him to back up. I guess Bennett picked up on that because all of a sudden we noticed him on Friday night with an imaginary stick (whip) saying, "Doc, back". It took us a bit to figure it out, but once we realized what he was doing we thought it was pretty cute.
A huge thank you to everyone who supported us as we raised money for Boston Children's Hospital! (Official Thank Yous will be sent out in the next week or so.) The walk was on Sunday and the weather was perfect. We got there early so that we could try out the games, face painting, etc. and then headed out before the crowds.
The "official" team photo in front of the Hatch Shell.
I added our team name to the back of the shirts.
Cutting out the stencils was a bit tedious, but freezer paper stenciling is pretty easy.
Bennett liked playing in the bubbles.
Getting his face painted for the first time. He wasn't so sure what to make of it.
Hmm, would Bennett be a tortoise or a hare?
Bennett and Fiona pre-walk.
And we're off!
Perhaps the cutest moment of the day was when Fiona took Bennett's hand as we started off and then held his hand for the entire walk! He asked a couple of times to be picked up, but we suggested that he take Fiona's hand instead and he kept on going!
Bennett and Fiona are just 2 of those 500,000 patients!
Another way they raise a little more money is by selling these "honor flags". They are pretty inexpensive (only $20 each) so I'm surprised that more people don't buy them. Alicia thought in the future there should be an "add-on" option on the donation pages so that donors might be able to more easily purchase them.
With our flags.
After the walk we went to the playground that was next to the start/finish line. There was a climbing structure with a nice big slide. This is not an easy climbing structure! It got even worse at the top where you had to maneuver between two small platforms that had widely spaced netting between them. Bennett kept wanting to go up again but Daddy couldn't handle it anymore. I think twice was two times too many for his liking.
Instead the kids tried out this spinning disk. Bennett seems to love all of these "thrill" type activities. Can't wait to go to an amusement park with him!
Hugs as we said goodbye.
Now let's review what happened the rest of the week.
I have a helper in the garden. He also tried watering it one day recently by taking a microfiber towel, dipping it into his pool, and then dripping/squeezing the water out over the plants. Not a very effective method, but it kept him happy.
He's also been very interested in puzzles. Of course his favorites are a set of four Curious George puzzles that we have, but those are only 12 pieces each so they aren't very challenging. We also have a few 24 piece puzzles that he enjoys.
I'm not sure how it happened, because I certainly didn't get any older, but Hanna somehow turned from the three-year-old that I first met into a high school graduate!
During the processional. I wonder if they are smiling because someone else was taking their picture. I was so far away they would have had no idea that I had a camera aimed at them. (Yay zoom lenses!)
And speaking of growing up, when did this happen? He looks so much older to me in this picture. (Taken during a mini run-around break during the ceremony.
A note to all people who will be on stage at a graduation, especially those who will be handing out diplomas or shaking hands with the graduates and thus having your picture taken: Please be aware of the school colors and don't dress in conflicting colors. The school colors were maroon and white. The person handing out diplomas was wearing an orangey-coral. It looked horrid next to the maroon robes! (It doesn't look quite as bad to me in this picture, but in real life it was horrible! Even Chris agreed.
Of course the wind picked up just as Hanna had to cross the stage, so she was fighting with her cap and her hair the whole time.
Throwing caps. It looks really cool, but it must be a pain to try to find your cap again. I asked Hanna how hard it was to find her cap and she said she only did a mock throw. Smart girl!
In typical teenage fashion, after the ceremony locating the boyfriend was more importand than locating the family. :)
With the proud parents.
The whole family. Ooops, Uncle Kevin is stuck behind Hanna's cap.
Bennett walked back to the house with Grandpa. (Until Bennett had to take a potty break in some bushes.)
There's a tradition in town for families to hang a banner to acknowlege their graduate.
Let's not rush things too much, but here's my "graduate".
