Fair

The fair has come and gone for the year.  The weather was kind of a bummer on the days we could all make it as a family, so we ended up dividing and I went over with Jack and Nana on Tuesday, my day off.  Jack and Dad went over with Nana on Columbus Day while I was at work.  It rained on parade day as well, but we all still went to Great-Nana's.

Jack showing off his whoopie pie he got from the parade.

Eating some delicious fried dough at great-nana's.

By some fluke, I got the shark in the bucket while showing Jack how to play.

Now we have a giant shark at home.

Jack mastered this game on his own and now we have a horn/noisemaker at home.

Riding the train.

 Didn't get to ride in the panda, but still happy.

 Conquering the dragon coaster after a bad experience last year.

 Ice cream break.

Learning about bees.

 Oink.

- S.

Apples

We did a speedy cider donut/apple picking trip a few weeks ago, just to say we did.  It was a nice morning and the apples have since been eaten or made into applesauce and frozen.

- S.

Touch A Truck 2016

We missed the annual Touch A Truck in Beverly due to Jack choosing to go to a classmate's birthday party instead.  But Danvers came through last month with their own Touch A Truck, so we checked it out.  Jack was pretty overwhelmed when we first got there, but changed his mind and decided to stay at the last minute.

There was even a boat.

"10-4 good buddy."

Pretty excited about his squishy bulldozer and balloon.

- S.

Playroom

We started talking about converting the back porch into a playroom probably about...four years ago.  Maybe serious conversations started three years ago.  Well, we finished painting yesterday and wasted no time moving some of Jack's stuff into the space.  

Painting, again.

All done!

 Nice and clean.

Step One: Break in the playroom.

 Step Two: Have a friend come by and help you break the room in further.

Step Three: Impress the adults with your methods.

It's nice to have the hard part of this room completed, just in time for cold weather, so now we'll find out how well the insulation works.  Now we get to do things like put up blinds, add some lighting, and come up with a better configuration of Jack's stuff.

- S.

New School

Jack started a new school a couple of weeks ago.  He is now in Pre-K, but his new school goes all the way up to 8th grade.  We aren't sure if he will actually stay there for that long, but are hopeful that it is a good fit for him at least for a few years.  So far he seems to be settling in and making some friends and has been in a better overall mood lately and actually wanting to go to school.

Looking a bit apprehensive the morning of the first day.

Looking pretty happy at the end of the first day.

Last weekend the school had a volunteer day which we attended.  

We got to plant a tree in the play area.

There were lots of worms in the dirt, so hopefully the tree thrives.

- S.

Birthday #4

Jack had a birthday recently.  This is the first year he could grasp the concept and talked about turning four consistently for at least a month prior to the big day.  We even made a calendar the week of his birthday and he crossed off the days each night to count down to his birthday and party.  

On his actual birthday we went to Kanes to get a donut.

"How old are you today?"

After donuts, we gave him a few presents.  And the rest of the day was dedicated to Lego.

We had a small family gathering the next day.  A panda party.  Panda cake.

Panda cupcakes.

Panda piñata stuffed with Lego.

Jack seems to be enjoying four so far.  He has already told us that when he turns 100 he would like a pumpkin-themed party.  

- S.

Salem Willows

I've got quite a backlog of stuff to post about and hope to get to it over the next few days.  We made it to Salem Willows this year before Labor Day.  Jack remembered going last year and requested to go again this year.  He seemed to have a pretty fun time.  He still can't quite play skee ball, but we will keep working on it with him.

Blasting off.

Ahoy.

Same car as last year.

No pizza this year, picnic time.

 Chocolate soup

- S.