New Hampshire Adventure 2013

We headed back to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to try a longer hike for our second trip into the wilderness. We had such a good time in 2012 that we had to outdo ourselves!


Before the hike begins. No bruises yet.
 

3.8 miles in - traveling on the 19 Mile Brook Trail
 

Asher is a rock leaper.
 

Matching hats. Too bad Paul's hat didn't make it up the mountain.
 

 

A bridge like Robin Hood's
 

Asher is excited when Paul catches a fish!
 

We stayed at a hut in Carter Notch. It was awesome!

View of the Carter Notch Huts from the Carter Dome trail
 

 

Enjoying time with my nephew and son!
 

Eric and the boys
 

The whole family at the top of Mt. Height
 

Favorite cousins
 

 

Views from Mt. Height
 

Asher gets the royal ride. Once he was done, Paul got the ride
 

 

 

Picture Time!

 

The Brothers Weil

We found fish and toads and snakes. Paul fell into a dammed up stream and Eric carried Paul down the mountain once the blisters got too painful (and the sneakers fell apart). We hiked 12 miles with several thousand feet of elevation. A great trip!

What will the adventure bring next year?
 

Joss knows how to be a superhero

All you need is the right pose!

Best of FB - July 2013 Edition

Here are some kid related highlights from our FB threads in July. We've got some funny kids!

Paul (age 5 2/3): Daddy, did you know that before a baby is in a mommy's belly, it's an egg?!?
Shawn: That's right. Who told you that?
P: I read it in the human body book at school.
S: Hmmm...did you learn anything else?
P: Something comes together with the egg to make the baby, but I'm not sure what. It looked like a balloon though.
S: Well...I think you and I are going to need to have a little talk...


Paul had some trouble in school yesterday. A child was laying on the floor, and Paul abruptly jumped on top of him. They child was stunned but not hurt. Paul "lost a sticker" for this behavior - bad news. When we asked him why he did what he did, he said "He looked like a chair - so I sat on him!"


Paul, to another child at the pool: "My full name is Paul Andrew Weil. There are three things you can call me: Paul, Pauly, and Paully-Waully-Doodle-All-The-Day."


Beren cooked dinner in a fetching little witch hat, because Joss insisted it be so.


Beren: Look, I made a lego snake!
5yr old: That's not a snake.

Beren: Use your imagination.

5yr old: I'm imagining you not doing that anymore.

Summer Concerts with the LBB

The best part of the Lexington Bicentennial Band Concerts?

Playing dad's euphonium.

And snuggling together.

 

Fierce Looking Guests

Beren and Amy rocked the house at Videodrome Discotheque - Bowie night of course. That meant...playtime!


Fierce
 

Meanwhile, Joss was learning about the joys of potty training. Now he gets to read the magazines.
 

Pants AND underware. Why? Don't know.

A beautiful portrait

July 4th Parade

Here comes daddy!

Getting closer...

Here you are!

We're ready to cheer.

Kids love clowns. Mommy, not so much.

Best of FB - June 2013 Edition

Here are some kid related highlights from our FB threads in June. We've got some funny kids!

Paul's kindergarten teacher left his school last week - she is getting re-married to her ex-husband and moving. She gave gift bags for each of her students filled with Hershey kisses, pencils, and Smarties. Paul has been jealously guarding this special cache of treats from Joss.


Joss tries to take some of the candy, and Paul tells him "No! This is my special gift from my teacher!" Joss replies "Well my teacher is leaving too so she can marry her sabba! She'll give me a special goodie bag!"

Joss's teacher is in her 50s and married. She is not going to marry her own grandfather. Crafty kid!


We started going through the pre-Kindergarten summer exercises for Paul - Math and Reading. Joss joined in. We sorted shoes, played "I Spy" with shapes in the room, and clapped in rhythm. Highlights for me:

• Paul telling me that the shape I drew was a trapezoid. ("I learned it from Blue's Clues"). 
• Explaining that the lampshade was a conical section - and showing it in relation to the ice cream cone I drew. 
• Clapping irregular meters with him. He's definitely ready for music lessons of some sort. 
• Joss discovering that categorizing the 14 pairs of shoes into two categories (velcro versus laces) left some shoes out - and defining the two additional categories (buckles and elastic). 

Tomorrow is Paul's "Moving Up" day in his center's kindergarten class. More-or-less his pre-school graduation. He'll be in public school kindergarten in September, and all I can think about is how odd it is that I simultaneously feel a sense of loss with the end of his pre-school years AND irritation about his lack of maturity. This parenthood thing is a trip. #parenting


Joss has inherited his Safta's odd habit of pocketing rocks from wherever he happens to be. The result: my washing machine doubles as a rock tumbler.

We love Aptima's summer outing

We love the water...

 

 

...Mom and Dad love the lobster.

Aptima Summer Outing

It's that time of year again - time for Aptima's Summer Outing! There aren't many pictures because we spent most of the time in the pool. But here's a sample.


Time for chowdah
 

How many lobstahs can you eat?
 

Swim Time!
 

Just deep enough. Next year maybe I'll try the kiddie pool.
 

My Boys Go To Harvard

The boys have been participants at the Harvard Lab for Developmental Studies. Paul has done it twelve times! Don't they look like lab rats?

Strawberry Festival

We went to the Strawberry Festival at Russell Orchards and it was HOT.

 

Hayride Time!

Let's get our faces painted?!?
 

 

Pirate & Elephant
 

Nice hat. Mosquito or elephant?
 

Birthday Parties!

We love birthday parties. Doesn't matter who's birthday - as long as there's cake and playing.


Who needs quarters - we've rule the road.
 

Let's shoot this arcade game
 

Dodge ball - better run!
 

Strike 23. Someone should teach this kid how to bat!