From Alyssa:
This was the first time at the lake as a toddler, and it’s a totally different experience than being a baby. I LOVED playing outside with my cousins and brothers. My favorite activities were throwing the beach balls around, fishing in the “aquarium” for salamanders, singing/snoozing/meowing in the hiking backpack, canoeing with Mom and Dad, and sitting in the tiny chair that is just my size! I tried to keep up with the big kids and did NOT want to take naps.
Some of Alyssa’s latest words:
OW!
NO!
Yeah
Meow
Woof
From Luke:
I still love to climb the ladder at the lake! It’s my favorite. I also loved catching salamanders with Preston, and I hiked the WHOLE way on our hike to the big rocks without needing to go on shoulders at all! I even climbed up to the top of the very big rock with help from Tia Deb. I didn’t want to take naps, either, but I did end up napping in grandma’s bed both days we were there. I just got so worn out from all of the activities, and from playing in the cold water. I went canoeing AND sailing on this trip!
From Preston:
My favorite things to do at the lake were catching salamanders and keeping them in the home made aquarium. I caught more salamanders than I could even count, but I had to keep releasing them back into the wild so that they could still live. We all did a treasure hunt after we found the treasure map, and I paddled my kayak almost all the way to nature center. I got a little tired so Uncle Ted tied the kayak to the canoe so I could take a rest and get towed.
From Mommy:
Last week Mom, Luke, Alyssa, and I went to Luke’s preschool picnic at the park. It was during school and work for Preston and John, so they couldn’t go. We had a lot of fun playing on the playground and hanging out with some of Luke’s new friends. At one point Alyssa climbed up on to a platform with 2 slides side-by-side, RACING slides. She scooted up to one of the slides and was about to go down. But then she looked over and saw the empty slide next to her! She scooted back and yelled “aaaahabaaada!,” calling for a brother to race her! No brother arrived, but a minute later another little toddler arrived and raced down the slide with her.
Two days later we all went to Luke’s end of year preschool program at the little church where his new school is. Luke has only been going to this school for 6 weeks, but he kept up with all of the songs that the other kids had been practicing all year. I was so proud of him!! He loved standing up in front of everyone and had no fear or shyness. My little guy is growing up! He favorite songs of the night were “Up pop the flowers!” and “I’m Looking over a four leaf clover” and “Reindeer shake your fluffy tail.” He likes to shake is fluffy tail on that last one. After the program we went downstairs for snacks where Alyssa was everyone’s favorite little toddler to chase, and Luke loved the jello jigglers.
The next day I went to the school district volunteer lunch, which was lovely. It was nice to see some of the other kindergarten moms again. The program featured the Elementary District Chorus of 5th graders, and they were really good! It made me thankful for the great district that we live in.