First and Second Trips to New Hampshire! The Swimming Hole

It was pretty hot on Thursday and with school winding down for both kids, there was a lot of idleness and whining going on of the "what should we dooooooooo?" variety.  So, around 3:30, I googled "swimming holes near me" and picked one we haven't been to:  The Peabody River Swimming Hole half an hour away in Gorham, New Hampshire.

I packed Sadie and Sawyer into the car and we took off.

We arrived a little after 4 just as other people were leaving and the swimming hole turned out to be everything the internet promised - a wide flat spot on a gentle river with a flat stone slab bottom - like an outdoor swimming pool.  And it was all ours! 
The kids were happy! 

After an hour, the sun went behind the trees and it got a little too chilly to play in the water so the kids set off up the river to explore.

Further up the river was a boulder field with water running through it.  The kids had a kick stepping from big stone to big stone.

I told the kids that if they caught me a fish, I'd take them for ice cream.

Sadie found the perfect stone for skipping.

And, inevitably, the whole thing turned into throwing rocks into the river and seeing how big a splash they could make.

They threw some pretty big rocks!

Sadie set the table for two at her new rock restaurant.  Very avant garde.

So, what did the kids think of the new swimming hole?

After all that swimming and exploring, we needed refreshment, and the small town of Gorham, N.H. was happy to oblige.

The kids had fun, got active, explored, stayed cool and got ice cream.  So, yeah, that was a successful outing.  

Then, on Saturday (yesterday), only hours after Sawyer's birthday party ended, we were back to that dangerous combination of scorching day and "noooooothiiiiiinnggggg to doooooooooo!"  So we jumped into the car headed back to our favorite swimming hole, this time with mommy and Frankie.

Sawyer got splashy in a clear pool to everyone's dismay.

Frankie has a new smile she does when told to look at the camera.  She sticks out her lower jaw and smiles.  Here's what that looks like.  Watch for it in future photos.

BONUS:  Totally unrelated to swimming holes, there's this...

We are madly in love with this little wombat.

Sawyer's 5th Birthday: The Party!

As you know, Friday was Sawyer's 5th Birthday.  We had a little celebration on Friday night at home - we sang Happy Birthday and Sawyer blew out a candle and got to open a couple presents, a giant stuffed snake from Sadie and a haul of 5 wonderful new Little Bear books from Grandma Vicki.  Sawyer was very happy. 

Then, on Saturday, there was the main event: THE BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!

Grandma India was here and Uncle Preston come over too (mask and all) and we had a little party out in the backyard at 10am before it got too hot.

Frankie wore her best party dress.

We ate pizza at our new picnic table.

Grandma India brought a Piñata stuffed with candy and Uncle Preston hung it from a tree.

Mommy pulled out the ring-toss game and that provided some 
entertainment.

Then Grandma India was moved by the spirits to perform a ring dance.

There were party horn thingies.

The kids shot stomp rockets all over the backyard and not one landed on the roof.  HOORAY!!

Sadie showed off her hula-hooping skills, which were quite impressive.  I didn't even know she knew how!

And then it was piñata time!  In his capacity as Birthday Boy, Sawyer had the honor of naming the colorful little burro:  Fuzzy!

Sawyer also decreed that the contestants would not wear a blindfold so I held the rope and kept Fuzzy jumpin' to ensure a fair fight.

The kids took turns swinging at Fuzzy.

The battle went on a whole lot longer than I expected.  Fuzzy pulled a rope-a-dope and just when we thought he was ready to break and spill his candy guts, he came back strong ducking and weaving time and again.

Even Sadie was worn out from beating that paper donkey.  

Honestly, I don't know why anyone would ever invite other peoples' kids to whack a piñata - why wait in line when you can just do it yourself?  And, while we're at it, it's such great exercise, why don't we do this all the time?  Piñata-ing could be the next fitness craze - like LIfeCycle or Pure Barre, but with whacking!

Sawyer was like a vulture tearing into Fuzzy's carcass looking for the last of his tootsie rolls.

It got pretty hot under that mask.  Sorry Uncle Preston.  

Also, it occurs to me that, after covering our faces for months, we may all forget how to smile.  What if it's like the way you feel hidden behind sunglasses and allow yourself to roll your eyes in front of other people because you know they can't see, and then you take off your glasses but forget people can see now and you roll your eyes and they see you and then you have to pretend you had an eyelash in your eye.  That's what it will be like for a while after the masks come off - we'll be seeing a lot of authentic expressions.

Then it was time for the cake and presents - although we reversed it and did presents then cake because Sawyer was too full from piñata candy to eat cake right away.

Sawyer's first present was another one from Sadie (remember, he got a stuffed snake from her the night before).

A dragon hand puppet.  He loved it!!

Well done, Sadie!!!  You really know your brother.

Then a super cool dino puzzle from Grandma India.

A Batman doll from Mommy and Papa (along with a cool flashlight and an RC car and something else).

A Paw Patrol bubble machine from Uncle P.

And a football from Uncle P.

... and so much more.  

This little girl loved watching it all!

Is it just mommy and me or is this little boy becoming unconscionably handsome?

Finally, it was cake time.  Mommy baked a beautiful layer cake with chocolate butter cream frosting and a big "5" in sprinkles on top.

There it is.  I'm so proud of my wonderful girl and her cake-making abilities.

There wasn't much wind, but getting the candles lit was still tough.

Finally!  We all sang and then...

And that was it!  Sawyer is 5 now, and don't you forget it!!!