It seems like it is still the middle of August, but summer is coming to a close soo quickly! The kids go back to elementary and high school this week. The colleges resume next Tuesday. Meanwhile I suspect we will have a bit of rain over Labor Day weekend. So when the weather forecast for this past weekend promised to be hot and sunny, I made it a point to get my family outside as much as possible.
Friday night we picked up Abby at daycare and went to Greenfield to have supper with friends at Pete's Seafood. We ate inside, but afterwards we found an empty parking lot and let the kids play for a while while the grownups chatted.
On Saturday it was off to the Cummington Fair. Admission was a little pricey ($8 per adult!) so we skipped the rides which were pricey too. We still had a good time watching the shows, seeing the animals, and generally wandering around. We did have snacks - sno-cones, fried dough (sugar pizza!), and cookies too. Even though it was expensive, and it took a while for Abby to warm up to the place, it was a lot of fun. We did a trip around the place with Abby in the stroller, then she decided to get out, and led us back through everything all over again. And cows, and cows, and she wasn't even scared. She even touched a bunny rabbit! Way to go Abby! This kid is afraid of animals most of the time, so it was amazing to see her enjoy them on this trip. We will definitely be visiting more barns and farms in the future. It might have been because the animals were all tied up or in pens but whatever the reason, she did great.
We waited until we got back to Greenfield to have a real lunch though. I wanted to go to the beach, and it was crowded when we came home, but Abby was asleep so it had to wait.
Sunday, I was a bit worried. We needed to go grocery shopping, but I wanted to get outside too. So after some stalling in the morning, we finally got out to Greenfield. Went to BJ's and did that as quick as we could- not hitting every aisle, just getting what we needed. Then we went to the Chinese place nearby for lunch. Letting Abby eat with "sticks" was also a priority for her too. She wanted noodles and French fries, but she managed to eat some chicken, carrots, and broccoli too. After lunch, we split up so we could finish our shopping in the same plaza. This gave us a little time outside going from store to store. When we were finally done, Abby asked us 3 times if we were done with the stores and then quickly fell asleep. I guess she was really afraid to miss something. We got home and let her finish her nap, and I was really losing hope that we would get outside for the evening.
After her nap she had taken her time (and we had let her) waking up, having a snack and watching some tv etc. Finally I just asked her "Do you want to go to the beach? Do you want to go outside?" She immediately turned off the tv and hopped out of daddy's lap to get ready. Yay! My husband and I both knew that dinner had to be made, but I also knew that we HAD to go to the beach. So after some quick negotiating Abby and I were on our way. It wasn't until we got out to the driveway with the wagon loaded up and everything that I found out that we were going to the LITTLE beach and not the big one. Either was fine with me. So we said good-bye to daddy a few times and headed off. Down the road with Abby in the wagon, watching out for dogs and cars to the little beach. Abby made it clear that she did NOT want to share her toys this time, and was happy that the kids nearby weren't home. When we got to the beach there were 2 girls, older than Abby, there with their father and a canoe. The sisters swam and played as Abby and I quickly got into the water. We had our own fun playing in the water, and Abby was thrilled when her daddy finally showed up. He surprised me by coming into the water even though he was wearing long pants. He even took Abby out deep, up to his waist, or higher. It made me nervous, but they had fun and I stayed nearby swimming where Abby and I could see each other. Finally he went back home to continue supper, and Abby and I played on the beach for a little while before she decided we needed to go home too. It was a lot of fun, and as I said, I know we won't have many more chances to do it this year.
When we got home, we got dry clothes on and went outside to play. The mosquitoes were a real mood-killer for me, but with some bug-0ff cream I did the best I could. When supper was ready (pork on the grill), we ate outside and then came in as soon as we were done. My husband went back out to make s'mores on the grill before he put the fire out. Yum, yum!
We finally calmed down and got Abby to bed sometime after 9pm. Really was a great weekend. Lots of little things, but it all added up to.... wonderful. I should have taken pictures. Probably one of my favorite weekends of the summer!
