settling into fall

If one were to go by the calendar, one would assume that summer was still in full swing; but, around these parts we have started settling in for fall.

We ended up going to our favorite orchards (Holmberg Orchards) for peaches and raspberries this year (a first for us).

It was fun; but, it reminded us about a favorite fall activity, picking apples. And then that made us think of apple pie, and there is really nothing better on a cozy fall day than a slice of apple pie.

In any case, as far as the Wandering Seals are concerned, summer is over. Kaput. Classes have started at both of the parental Seals' perspective campuses and the motivation for drenching the kids in sunscreen for school in the mornings is on the decline.

I think the great fall trips we have planned doesn't help our observance of summer either. Clearly, we need to find a few fun summer activities to squeeze in to help us enjoy the remainder of summer.

Also on the horizon, Seal Pup 2.0 celebrates 9 months of drool-y goodness on Wednesday. Perhaps some pictures are in order? Just to give you something to smile, here's SP 2.0's last day in the bucket...he is HUGE!

and things here

The last month or so have been filled with everyday doings for us (really, each of these things could have been a separate blog post; but, I plead laziness--sorry).

We went to Sailfest, our town's celebration of sail.

We went to a national model train show held in Hartford, which was pretty fun.

SP 1.0 had his first exposure to Ethiopian food. He is a fan, suprisingly.

Papa went to Florida to take care of some family business for me, since I don't have any vacation time to speak of at the moment. I stayed at home with the pups which as a little tiring.

We spent some time at the beach.

That was fun; but, SP 2.0 is, decidedly, not a fan.

We went to the Greater Hartford Quilt Show, which was really fun (for one of us anways).

Just summer doings. What have you been up to?

I put up pictures of our doings in flickr (surprise!).

to cali or bust

We returned from our vacation a little over a week ago. My intentions were to process all of pictures before uploading them; but, that would mean you would be waiting till Christmas, so I figured I would just put the pictures up in flickr and give a little recap, as it was a pretty big deal, what with SP 2.0's first plane adventuring taking place. So hey, Christmas in July!

We made our annual trek to Carlsbad, California and it was a ton of fun. Getting there was a bit trying since we were sent home the Friday night we tried to depart (clearly, the airline and airport was unaware that we had some seals to see); but, the airlines fixed us up right and proper for travel on the following Saturday. Note to self (or really, Papa), do not book flights for late afternoons/evenings during thunderstorm season.

The first thing on the schedule after our arrival to the Land of Sun, was an afternoon birthday tea to celebrate a special someone turning five, I don't have to tell you how I feel about birthdays. It was great (for those interested in the requested "photo shoot" you can find those shots in flickr).
The following day included dinner, hibachi style, at Benihana. This might be one of my favorite shots from the whole trip and it's not particularly stellar, technically speaking; but, it's kind of hilarious.

There was beach play (I didn't go, this shots were taken by Papa), I stayed in the air conditioned dwelling...it was very nice.

We went to Legoland, which, while crazy, seemed particularly calm when comparing it to the slimmest possibility of going to Disneyland. But the kids (the ones who needed a ticket to get in anyway) really had fun. The babies, I am pretty sure they thought it was kind of hot; but, yay (!) bright colors!

We had a lot of fun there (I really like this shot of the three of them...it's very Breakfast Club-y).

A lot of fun.

And, as you can imagine, there were a lot of Legos there.

We were also able to see old friends (or rather, meet them in SP2.0's case).

We filled our bellies with ice cream.

And then we returned home (some of us so happy that vehicular hugs were in order).

It was a good trip.

There is a computer-crash-worthy equivalent number of photos in flickr for your perusal, should you, you know, be interested in that sort of thing.

a-wandering we will go

Yesterday, Seal Pup 1.o's pre-school class went on a little adventure. There was a little walk to "The Secret Garden" otherwise known as the Caroline Black Memorial Garden in the Arboretum on the Campus of Connecticut College. After taking at turn in the gardens, there was a picnic. It was fun. Parents were invited, so Papa and I went.

Aside: I caught a child who biffed it near a little pond, so I was sufficiently puffed with pride when I returned to work after the picnic, it's not easy being a hero.

While Seal Pup 2.0 could not join us on the Garden adventure, we do have good news to report: he found his belly button. Cancel the search parties.

We are going to wander to the left coast for a while. So no updates next week; but, I will make up for it when we get back. Also, if you are catching up with us on a feed reader, I heartily suggest that you click over to the blog to see the new banner which reflects SP2.0's wandering with us. As SP1.o would say, "I did it all on my own."

a hiking endeavor

We went for our first family hike over the weekend. We stayed close to home while testing the waters of family physical fitness. Also, the weather didn't offer much promise, what with all the rain and June-gloominess New England has been experiencing of late. In any case, we went for a little hike at Bluff Point in Groton, Connecticut.

We opted to do the shorter route which worked out to be a little over two miles, five seemed a bit much for Seal Pup 1.0. And while SP1.0 was very excited about "hiking in the jungle!" we wish he was as excited to actually walk, or rather, hike the hike.

There was a goodly amount of shoulder riding; but, that's okay, he is only three, after all. And since Seal Pup 2.0 didn't have to do any walking whatsoever, well, I guess I can see where he was coming from.

There are a few more pics of our hiking adventure in flickr. And, as promised, there are also a few 3 year and 6 month update, portraity shots in flickr as well (scroll to the bottom of the first page and click to the top of the second). I am playing around with lenses to figure out which I like best for portraiture, so you will likely see more portraits of the pups coming your way.

things to do in baltimore when it rains

Since it's June, it seemed only natural that I tell you about some wandering we did in May.

We headed south to attend the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival so I could (start the celebration of my birthday and) meet up with some blog-knitting friends (or rather, some of SP 1.0's adoring fans) and buy some fiber--for those interested in more fiber talk, go here.

I am sure a time will come when fiber festivals won't be fun family trips anymore and I will be doing them solo; but, till that time, it's a fun family affair. Because really, how can you not love sheep?

And since we were down there, we also headed to the Baltimore to visit the National Aquarium as well (on the advice of some good friends).

We had a lot of fun at both the festival and the aquarium. It rained off and on at the sheep and wool festival, which, wet wool, yay! But the aquarium was the ideal indoor activity for the following Sunday because the rain was torrential. We had a great time.

We were able to get a hotel pretty close to the aquarium which was good for kiddos who needed naps...or tummy time.

More pics in flickr, of course. Coming up: Pup 2.0's 6 month update, and 1.0's "Hey, I'm 3!" Catch-up. At the end of the week. I promise.

of kites and flying them

With the coming of spring means the flying of kites. Pup, the elder had a weird fear of flying kites last year, he might have been afraid of the kite flying away, I am not sure; but, to get him ready for his school's Kite Day, we decided to take him to our favorite park, Harkness Memorial, to fly a kite. While a kite was flown, the day could not be labeled a success by any means.

Since Papa and I wanted to see the kiddo have fun with with flying kites, we both went to Kite Day.

And even though it started out a little rocky, he soon found the fun.

Kite flying is a blast, who knew?

If you want to see more kite flying fun, you know where to look!