First Day of School - Keshet Edition

Today was also Amity's first day at CBI Preschool (and Kindergarten), which is the same school Z went to a few years back. Amity actually started camp there this past summer, so it really wasn't much of a "new" experience for her. It was, however, lots of fun to take sister first day of school pictures. As you can tell from the last of these photos, Amity is such a big kid and totally ready to assume her role as preschooler (WThF from 9-12:45). All other times she remains "the baby."

First Day of School - 2nd Grade Edition

We had barely recovered from our beach week of fun when lo and behold the first day of school (for both kids) rolled around. This post will primarily feature Zara pictures, though Amity did help to drop her off at Johnson this morning. Zara confidently strolled into her classroom, giving her teacher Ms. Machen a giant hug and finding her hook for her backpack and her new desk. New this year, her grade has 3 class sections instead of 4, so there are 20 kids in her class (and no assistant).Gone are the days she has to trudge down the steps to the first floor - 2nd graders are on the main floor of the school! On the other hand, she is in the furthest classroom on that floor (in reference to the main entrance). She's happy to be in the same class as her buddies Vivien, Alden, and Holden, and has made a new-to-the-school friend, Yenna. We expect she will have a wonderful year in 2nd grade (and will keep you posted, dear reader).

Beach Sunsets

One of the cool things about being on the Eastern Shore of VA is that you get a California-style beach sunset. Yes, despite being on the east coast we were on the western side of the Eastern Shore. And as we all know, the sun, she sets in the west. The Tobiases were kind enough to hang with Zara on the beach (and take these pictures) while Wes and I took a cranky Amity back to the beach house for bed. Thanks, guys!

Kayaking

We did a lot of fun things during our Eastern Shore week. One of them was a 2+ hour guided kayak tour of the salt marshes at the tip of the peninsula. We broke up into 4 tandem canoes - dads took younger kiddos, moms took older ones. Everyone had a wonderful time. Amity was so relaxed (and tired) she actually napped for more than half the trip. Both big kids took their turn at paddling and did great!

In the first picture, we're getting situated to head off in the boats. If you look closely on the left, Amity's actually already in a boat. The second and third pictures were taken on Raccoon Island. It's this super cool little place that's only accessible when the tide is right. Pretty amazing to walk around, really. We saw a lot of cool shells, as well as some beautiful birds and a ton of different crabs. Crossed a channel twice and avoided the power boats that didn't really get the "no wake" concept. Good salty fun!

The Eastern Shore

These pictures were actually taken on completely different days. No matter. This is just a little teaser to say we had fun on vacation on VA's Eastern Shore. To be fair, the picture of Zara is at the Virginia Beach Aquarium and therefore in Virginia proper, but the photo of Amity is on the beach (bayside) in Cape Charles, VA, so that totally makes up for my creative juxtaposition of space, time, and images.

BRIMS Camp

For the second year in a row, Zara spent a very enjoyable week at BRIMS camp. Last year we were very proud of her as she sang and played "Hot Cross Buns" and "Twinkle, Twinkle" on the tin whistle. This year she's moved up to advanced beginner status in dancing and picked up the fiddle as well. A lot of progress in just one year. She's enjoying it immensely, as are we. As with many things around here, Amity wants to know when it will be her turn to dance and play with Lori and Alex.

Traveling in Style

We don't spend a ton of time in hotels, and of course when we can we like to stay at awesome indie joints. That's not always an option, so when we need to go for a large chain hotel, we're partial to Embassy Suites. One of the reasons, as pictured here, is the "manager's reception" - complimentary booze for the grown ups, and fancy schmancy drinks for the kiddos. Plus munchie veggie and chip snacks! Oh, and the rooms are all suites. It rocks.

Detroit Zoo

Pictured: Zara looking super hip and cool on yet another carousel (kids both love 'em now. Zara loved 'em before, of course, but Amity's hooked now, too). Also, zebras. Of interest because Wes took this shot by using our monocular as an extra source of magnification, ie he held it up in front of the iPhone camera lens. In reality the zebras were pretty far away. Not pictured: Both Auntie Clare and Auntie Gabi came with us to the zoo. This is awesome in many ways, not the least of which is 1) Awesome company of favorite people, and 2) 2:1 grown up to kid ratio. Just like the good ol' only child days. But in that case, it was actually 4:1, since it was the same 4 grown ups and lil' Z. Ah, memories!

Diego's House

We've had a print of Detroit Industry in our living room since we lived in Ann Arbor, so both kids have grown up with "Diego" in our house. In a show of support for the arts in Detroit and because the kids had been asking, we decided to take a trip to the DIA. Several things of interest. The DIA is incredibly kid friendly, it turns out. They had a ton of support for family groups, including volunteers who specifically planned a custom tour for us based on the interest of the kiddos. Some of the works recommended are here in the pictures - specifically Diego's mural and also the arms and armory exhibit (One of my childhood favorites at the Met). The Brooklyn Bridge has obvious significance, and the elephant sculpture on the way out was just cool.

The other cool thing about the DIA was the iPads available in Rivera Court that extend and explain the themes and stories behind Detroit Industry. They are free to use in the museum, but we couldn't find the software for download back at home. We didn't try them out this time since we had Amity along for the ride and just making it out of the museum in once piece was amazing. To her credit, however, she was actually a really fantastic trooper. As long as we kept moving briskly (so I got to glance but not really stop and read anything), she was happy. Gives me great hope for future museum trips!