All Play and No Work

Two weeks into school, and we still haven't gotten homework yet.

So Saturday after skate lessons we headed to St. Rapheal's Church in N. Raleigh for their annual fair.  This is the third year we've gone.  We ride about 4 rides and hit up the games, and it's a quick treat for everyone.

 

I think they love to ride the swings because they know it drives me crazy.  Too fast!
 

They do have different ride preferences at times.  Here's Madeleine on the Scrambler.

Where Lily prefers a classic Carousel ride.



But we always end up together on the roller coaster.

Skating divas

From the minute I first found out I was pregnant, people asked me if when the girls would start skating.  I think most people assumed they'd be born with skates on.  But I didn't want to force anything on them if they didn't want to.  Plus, I was worried about them starting too early, getting frustrated (and cold!) and hating the whole idea of ice skating.  So we went slowly.  The rink has a "Mice on Ice" program for when they're little, but it was during the work week and didn't really work for us.

We went skating for the first time when they were five or so.  We went to the outdoor rink downtown on a sunny January day.  So it wasn't super cold.  But the ice was kind of melty.  Being the outdoor rink there's no zam, just a guy with a shovel and a hose.  They did okay, but it was nothing to write home about.

Then last year we hit the Ice House again just to feel it out.  They did okay, but my back was so sore after basically carrying them around the rink.

Then last weekend the Trailblazers had some extra ice we used for family skate.  Without the public skate crowd, they really were able to get into it more and said they were interested in lessons.  So this Saturday we started their skate school.  The girls listened to their teachers and had a good time.  They learned some basics. 

The bonus part of skate school is the public skate punch card where public skate sessions are included with our lessons, so we hit up public skate again today, and I can honestly say that by the end of public skate today, they were skating on their own.  There were laps WITHOUT FALLING.  Attempts at skating backwards even.  Lily was making me laugh talking about all the different types of skating - hockey, figure, and "Disney on Ice."

They've asked for skates for Christmas.  Pink ones, of course.

First day of first grade

Today the girls started first grade.  As with Kindergarten, they didn't have many details to share about their first day.  There are 6 classes, and each girl only has about 4-5 kids from their class last year in their class again this year.  While they have lunch at the same time, their recess times are different again, so they don't see each other until the end of the day.

We went shopping for the outfits above on Saturday.  Lily really wanted to go to Justice, but she didn't see anything there she liked.  I didn't see anything that hadn't been thrown up on by the Glitter Fairy.  So she ended up with an Old Navy sweater and some Justice jeans I got at the consignment sale.  Madeleine's outfit is Target (with Old Navy boots).  We're using the same Stride Rite backpacks as last year (the girls haven't figured out to ask for new ones).

When I picked them up at school, there was a whole bunch of kids still waiting for their bus to show up.  They'd been waiting an hour, and a lot of frantic parents were running into the school.  I felt really bad for them.

Wedding Hair

The girls were in a wedding this past weekend, and the bride let me know that she had made a salon appointment for them prior to the wedding.  For the first wedding we were in, I'd had their hair braided in French braids, so I wasn't sure quite what to expect.  The girls didn't either.

Madeleine went first.


She had a few ideas about what she wanted it to be like.


Just look at those curls.



Lily was more nervous about the curling iron, but after seeing Madeleine's do she said she wanted the same style.


I love the look on her face as it's coming together.


Finished!



Madeleine has asked what time we would have to get up in the morning to do her hair like this every day, and it is not happening.

Presque Isle

In case you misseit, we were in Erie, PA for a wedding over the weekend.  On Friday afternoon we headed out to Presque Isle State Park.  The girls weren't quite sure what to make of it since it's a different type of beach than they're used to.  The bike and running trails looked awesome, and I wish we'd had more time to explore.  Mostly we just walked along the beach.



Wrote our names in the sand


Climbed on things we weren't supposed to

Raced by the lighthouse

And messed with driftwood

Belated Beach Post

We headed out to the beach this year for a few days.  We skipped going last year, opting instead for Great Wolf Lodge.  The girls had been asking for a while when we were going back, so I knew it would be on the agenda for this summer.

Everyone was up early most days - so I would take the girls out first thing to gather shells at sunrise.


Then we'd head out to the beach for sand castles, burying, and a little bit of swimming.


Then Pool


The afternoon included crafts and/or mini golf.


Then we'd walk on the beach at sunset and play in the tidepools.


We finished up our stay with a visit to the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores.

My wild hair for this week.

 I had this genius idea a while back that it might be fun to take the girls to the art museum, have them sketch some of the works, and then go home and try to paint them.  We were talking to an artist last week at the Eno Festival who suggested we check out Jerry's Artarama rather than getting supplies from Michaels or something.

So we stopped at Jerry's this morning, and the staff was super helpful.  I told them what my plans were, and they helped me find the most appropriate, inexpensive supplies.  We picked up two 9x14 canvases, 8 3x3 canvases with mini easels, watercolor paints, 2 mixing palettes, two brushes, and sketch books for about what it would cost for us to go to the movies.

At the museum the girls were really good about finding something they liked.  They preferred modern and contemporary.

They were anxious to get to work when we got home.  They started with the small canvases first before moving to the large ones.

 This is Lily's take on Alison Saar's Tippy Toes - seen here.

 Madeleine's self portraits of them as babies.

The remaining 3x3 collection.