4 years, 5 months/2 years, 3 months.

Beach!  We spent the morning at Jacob Riis Beach with Connor's two Willa friends and a big sister, Alice.  Graham loved showing off his moves in the water to Alice.  Graham follows a strict schedule for his time at the beach: first, spend 2 hours throwing himself at the waves, getting knocked over, swimming in the surf, running and laughing the entire time, second, crash hard.  After a snack, he rolls himself into a towel and rests until it's time to leave.

4 years, 5 months/2 years, 3 months.

I drew the largest circle first.  Then, Graham drew each of the concentric smaller circles.  

4 years, 5 months/2 years, 3 months.

4 years, 5 months/2 years, 3 months.

After a morning in the playground, we put the boys to work scrubbing the bathroom tiles.  Really.  They wanted to!  Both boys love to help right now.  Connor's favorite thing to help with is feeding the cats.

4 years, 5 months/2 years, 3 months.

Splash pad at Lakeside!

4 years, 5 months/2 years, 3 months.

We headed to the Pier 6 playgrounds for some playhouses with Charlotte and monster attacks with Noah this morning.

4 years, 5 months/2 years, 3 months.

4 years, 5 months/2 years, 3 months.

The boys were having a wonderful time playing in these fountains outside the library until we noticed the "Don't Play in the Fountains" sign.  Whoops.

4 years, 5 months/2 years, 2 months.

Strawberry milkshakes are for sharing.

4 years, 5 months/2 years, 2 months.

It's a beautiful day in the Rockaways!  The surf was high and the boys got a little wave-shy but there was still plenty to do--drip castles for Graham and trucks with Eliza for Connor.

Daddy helped wear off a little leftover energy before bed with a very shrill dance party.

4 years, 5 months/2 years, 2 months.

The boys made up for 2 days inside at camp by becoming the dirtiest kids in Brooklyn today.

4 years, 5 months/2 years, 2 months.

Dining with Daddy at "camp" while Mama rejoins the workforce!  The boys earned their New Yorker merit badges this week, commuting to and from Goldman on the 2/3 train with Daddy.

4 years, 5 months/2 years, 2 months.

Back in Brooklyn!  The return trip took us just under 10 hours.  Once again, Graham was 100% engrossed in a Pixar marathon (Toy Story 1, Cars, Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, Monster's Inc.).  Connor was less entertained by the movies but was in good spirits for most of the trip.  We talked them into one 45-minute nap on the drive back, which was the only sleeping they did in the car all week.

See you next time, Maine!  Thanks for a great week!

4 years, 4 months/2 years, 2 months.

This morning, we took a short (1 mile round trip) hike with the boys in Acadia National Park.  Graham earned his hiking merit badge.  Connor did not.

Connor was feeling much better after his nap and had a blast with Graham throwing rocks into the water at Curtis Cove Beach.  We were all amazed at how the high tide completely eliminated the sand beach that we had played at with Nana a few days before.

When we got back to our vacation house, our two nudists chased a flock of wild turkeys into the woods.

4 years, 4 months/2 years, 2 months.

Connor was out-of-sorts today due to some travel-related GI issues so we took it easy, hanging out around our vacation house and exploring the little access trail to our "private beach" (aka rocky shore).  We had a close call with a skunk family but escaped without needing to invest in tomato juice, phew!

Safe drive home tomorrow, Nana!  We're so glad you came and spent the week with us!

4 years, 4 months/2 years, 2 months.

Today's agenda: the Dive-In Theater Boat Cruise with Diver Ed!  We took a boat ride that involved the captain scuba-diving with a camera, microphone, and bag so that we could see, hear, and later touch, the wildlife that he found underwater.  Connor only touched the sea star.  Graham touched everything other than the sea cucumber, but the highlight for him was definitely helping to push Diver Ed into the water when Diver Ed started his dive.

After the boat ride, Nana kindly drove the boys home and took care of them while Will and I hiked Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.  Thank you Nana!

4 years, 4 months/2 years, 2 months.

Nana is in Maine!  The boys were thrilled to discover Nana in the vacation house this morning and excited to head out to Curtis Cove Beach with her.  Nana brought a bunch of beach toys and the dump truck seems to have cured Connor of his hesitancy around the ocean--he vrooom vrooomed it right into the water and had a great time playing in the surf all morning.  Thank you Nana!

4 years, 4 months/2 years, 2 months.

We started off today with the famous (but unappreciated by our children) popovers at the Jordan Pond House restaurant.  Then we walked down to the lake for some "hiking" and exploring.  The kids had a hard time with the park rule that you aren't supposed to touch the water (because it is used for drinking) but otherwise had a great time.

Next, we drove to a mini-golf course for Graham and Connor's first round of 18.  Graham's form needs a little work, but he happily played the game more or less as intended.  Connor wasn't interested in using his putter but loved handing out everyone's balls at the end of each hole.  "Mama, pink! Daddy, green!  Graham, blue!  Connor, yellow!"

4 years, 4 months/2 years, 2 months.

We spent today exploring Bar Harbor and its rocky beaches and tide pools, throwing rocks in the surf, having snacks on the porch, and exploring the "big red barn" at our vacation house.