Hi, everyone!
A week ago, we spent Saturday and Sunday at the bay. It was supposed to be sunny, but there was smoke in the sky from forest fires and we never saw any blue! There wasn’t any sunset, either — just clouds! I helped James work on the jigsaw puzzle that Grandma and I set up for him. It’s almost done except for the dialogue boxes!
We came back to town so Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara could meet with the contractor doing work on their new house. The work is supposed to start this week! James drew a picture of the new house and put it on the refrigerator. Then Uncle Steven let Thomas pick out another old toy to play with. The Capsela set didn’t fall apart like the Space Warp set did, but some of the switches to control the moving parts didn’t work. Capsela got put away again until Uncle Steven has time to repair it! Meanwhile, Grandma made another batch of gluten free goat cheese biscuits to have for meals. Thomas was the official taste-tester and said they were yummy!
Nest weekend, we’re having a party to celebrate Uncle Steven’s retirement from the Air Force. Aunt Kara asked Grandma to make a coffee cheesecake for the party, and Grandma decided to make it and freeze it while she had some free time. Thomas and I helped! Thomas was having a goggle day, so he could look in the mixer and not worry about getting any batter splattered on his face! Look what a nice job Thomas did marbling the two batters! Too bad that surface is now all covered with ganache and nobody will see how pretty it was! Thomas discovered a hiding place in the forsythia bush next to the deck. When he looked up, he discovered a bird’s nest in the branches right above him! School is starting soon and James and Aunt Kara went shopping for James’ school supplies. They used Grandpa’s label maker to label everything!
Last weekend was really busy! On Saturday, we went to the Fairport Farmers Market! We intended to buy zucchini and canteloupe and peaches and we got them all. Then, when we were walking around, we saw somebody selling lemon flavored peanut butter. We tried some, and it was yummy! Then Grandma saw a stalk of Brussels sprouts and bought that, too! There was a music festival going on in Fairport, and one of my choir friends was playing with a group right at the end of the market! Of course I had to say hello!
After we put our produce in the car, we walked across the parking lot from the market to the public library. Grandma and I hadn’t been there since the major renovation, and we really liked the new children’s room! I was excited to see some of my favorite books were on the “most popular” shelf. I guess I have good taste in books!
Before we came home, Grandma and I went back to the Farmers Market to get a special lunch for Thomas. The hot dog vendor also sells carrot dogs — roasted carrots on a bun. The lady making the carrot dog asked whether we wanted any toppings on it. Grandma thought Thomas might want to put his own catsup on it, so she asked for it “naked”! Turns out, Thomas didn’t even want catsup when he ate it!
On Sunday afternoon, everybody except Grandpa went to the Sunflower Spectacular at Wickham Farms in Penfield. First, we went on a hayride around the sunflower fields, the apple orchard and the corn maze.
James and Thomas decided they wanted to go into the corn maze, so we all went. There were lots of paths and choices to make! At most of the intersections, there were ribbons tied to the stalks. Turns out, those were clues to which path to take! Thomas ran ahead and got lost! Aunt Kara and Uncle Steven could hear him crying and found him. We opened the clue note so we could get him out as soon as possible.
Thomas was much happier when we got back on the hay ride and rode back to the play area. He liked the spider web, and that was a good place for all of us to have a snack! It’s not pumpkin time yet, but we all posed in the pumpkin sign anyway!
James and Thomas and Uncle Steven decided to watch people firing the apple cannon while Aunt Kara and Grandma and I walked through the sunflower fields. There were fifteen varieties growing, and some of the plants were very, very tall! I saw sunflower blossoms that were bigger than me! Almost every sunflower had a honeybee visiting it. I guess sunflowers are pollinator plants just like the ones I saw on the garden tour!
Yesterday and today, Thomas has been washing more GI Joe toys in his wading pool. It’s been very hot, so playing in water outside has been just fine! Tomorrow, James has his new student orientation at his new school. He starts first grade in one more week! Thomas’ nursery school starts the week after that. Summer is almost over!
Love,
Lion-san
Even though we will see you tonight we thought we should answer your blog. Why didn’t you wear protective clothing when Thomas wore goggles making the cheesecake? Nancy-san said she knew there were a lot of varieties of sunflowers but not fifteen of them. She liked the one in the last picture too and she noticed that half the seeds were gone in the biggest sunflower.
I didn’t need protective clothing because Grandma made sure I was sitting far enough away from the mixer not to get splattered! Staying where Grandma says I should be is one of my greatest talents!