This weekend we had the chance to go down to a beach house of some friends of ours. October may not be the time you think of for going to the beach, but we had a wonderful time.
The weather on Saturday was pretty bad: cold, raining much of the time, wet. I hadn't packed much in the way of appropriate beach clothes, so I encouraged the kids not to get too wet. We stayed inside or under the house most of the day. Eleanor went down to the beach, but Amanda sensibly stayed inside. I had a chance to play a board game that is kind of like Monopoly, but much more interesting, since in addition to buying things, you get to do things and make things.
Sunday was much nicer, and there was a trip to the beach to go swimming. Eleanor went in a shirt and underwear (I had forgotten her suit!) and Amanda went down in a dress so she could go wading. In fact, since Amanda usually doesn't like swimming at the nearby indoor pool (it's too cold, she says), I insisted that she not be dressed to go swimming. Amanda spent a while digging, running back and forth, and wading. She would follow the water out as far as she could go, and then run back in having the water chase her. (Can you see what's coming?) Of course, one time the wave was faster than she was. Splash! She had a grand old time doing that over and over, until she got too cold to enjoy it.
My favorite scene with Eleanor was after the cat antagonized the dog, who then barked (loudly) at her. The cat raced upstairs, and was quite scared (heck, I was frightened, even though the cat was in no danger). While people were scolding the dog and getting her under control, Eleanor climbed up the staircase and explained to the cat that dogs sometimes act that way, and it's nothing to be afraid of.
The house was definitely not child proof, although many children have visited. For example, the circular staircase has railings far apart enough for me to go through (well, almost). There was string tied in a web-type structure across the openings: not enough to keep a determined child from falling, but enough to keep children from actively trying to leap off. Luke only fell down a few stairs once: he caught the strings on the way down and stopped his fall. He wasn't permanently damaged, which was considered a success. The deck had railings that I wouldn't want to lean against, and Luke could have fallen through. Someone watched him there. He loved doing chemistry with the dog's food and water. My favorite scene with him was whenever he ate. The dog would come and beg shamelessly, and Luke would hold out his hand with the food, and the dog would eat the food. Luke liked feeding the dog (occasionally he would do it on purpose, even) but he didn't like that the dog took away his food. He and the dog got along well, especially since I would pet the dog whenever Luke was paying attention to her.
We got back after 9 on Sunday. All the kids were asleep and stayed asleep until they were in bed. I think we wore the kids out. The flight home was simply beautiful---night flying in a clear sky (with sleeping children) is so peaceful. I hope we will go back again sometime.
The weather on Saturday was pretty bad: cold, raining much of the time, wet. I hadn't packed much in the way of appropriate beach clothes, so I encouraged the kids not to get too wet. We stayed inside or under the house most of the day. Eleanor went down to the beach, but Amanda sensibly stayed inside. I had a chance to play a board game that is kind of like Monopoly, but much more interesting, since in addition to buying things, you get to do things and make things.
Sunday was much nicer, and there was a trip to the beach to go swimming. Eleanor went in a shirt and underwear (I had forgotten her suit!) and Amanda went down in a dress so she could go wading. In fact, since Amanda usually doesn't like swimming at the nearby indoor pool (it's too cold, she says), I insisted that she not be dressed to go swimming. Amanda spent a while digging, running back and forth, and wading. She would follow the water out as far as she could go, and then run back in having the water chase her. (Can you see what's coming?) Of course, one time the wave was faster than she was. Splash! She had a grand old time doing that over and over, until she got too cold to enjoy it.
My favorite scene with Eleanor was after the cat antagonized the dog, who then barked (loudly) at her. The cat raced upstairs, and was quite scared (heck, I was frightened, even though the cat was in no danger). While people were scolding the dog and getting her under control, Eleanor climbed up the staircase and explained to the cat that dogs sometimes act that way, and it's nothing to be afraid of.
The house was definitely not child proof, although many children have visited. For example, the circular staircase has railings far apart enough for me to go through (well, almost). There was string tied in a web-type structure across the openings: not enough to keep a determined child from falling, but enough to keep children from actively trying to leap off. Luke only fell down a few stairs once: he caught the strings on the way down and stopped his fall. He wasn't permanently damaged, which was considered a success. The deck had railings that I wouldn't want to lean against, and Luke could have fallen through. Someone watched him there. He loved doing chemistry with the dog's food and water. My favorite scene with him was whenever he ate. The dog would come and beg shamelessly, and Luke would hold out his hand with the food, and the dog would eat the food. Luke liked feeding the dog (occasionally he would do it on purpose, even) but he didn't like that the dog took away his food. He and the dog got along well, especially since I would pet the dog whenever Luke was paying attention to her.
We got back after 9 on Sunday. All the kids were asleep and stayed asleep until they were in bed. I think we wore the kids out. The flight home was simply beautiful---night flying in a clear sky (with sleeping children) is so peaceful. I hope we will go back again sometime.
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