Ahhh....Summer.....

There's been a few things going on of late, and a whole lot of "nothing" in between.  The "nothing" is what makes the best of childhood and the best of summertime, in my humble opinion.  No schedule, few plans, fewer rules and transitions.  Bliss. But first, before we settled into "nothing" Bea and I headed to Albany for an overnight trip to see a high-school friend of mine, whose son graduated high school.  Bea helped set up the centerpieces with votives and fresh flowers,

enjoyed playing with teenager Paroma so much, and loved the homemade naan that the on-site caterers dished out!  And I sure loved catching up with my dear friend and her family members, both older and younger!

Then, onto the little things of "nothingness."  Kiddie pool: Bea mourned the loss of our kiddie pool that I threw out after one summer when she was 2 or 3, so I asked Mary Jane if we could borrow hers for a couple of weeks.  I couldn't believe how much a 7-year old could enjoy splashing around in this thing!

Spontaneous hair-dos:  Bea decided I "needed to look more beautifuler for the ball" one day, so she got all the hair stuff out and created this amazing look:

Stretch weaving loom bands:  who knew that they made perfect headbands and that my daughter would bring back the 80's style that I loved so dearly?:

and who knew they also worked as "sunglasses" or to create an Asoka Tano designed face?:

Samm:  We've tried to see her almost once a week, and I recently took them on a hot day to a city park in Worcester with an awesome splashed (and an overpriced ice cream truck who stayed nearby):

                            Toys:  I hear Bea talking to herself and playing many times each day.  It's so nice not to have to stop her imagination to go somewhere or do something as it seems I'm always doing during the school year:

and who knew this steam pipe could be used as a climbing wall off-season?

What's a schedule?:  Bea has miraculously been sleeping until 7-7:30 and even later a few times. Mealtimes and "meals" in general (and bedtime) are much more flexible too, and I tend to let her graze between breakfast and dinner, creating combinations of things she sees in the kitchen.  Today she asked to make ants on a log:

and the other day she dug to the bottom of her Halloween bucket and found an old, likely expired Fun Dip.  She couldn't believe mommy said yes to her request to eat it!  Oh the joy...

She's practicing math facts daily for five minutes, and squeezing in piano practice now and again, but reading has been a huge part of every day.  And the better she gets at it the more and more she craves it, with book in hand (and in every room and car) many times each day!  I think we've been to the library at least 6-8 times in the past couple weeks, getting her Summer Reading papers stamped an earning prizes.  I've also been reading aloud to her, and we read one of my childhood favorites in one sitting the other morning:

(We also watched the pilot episode of Little House on the Prairie and are waiting to start Season 1 when it gets returned to the library.  Oh the memories that brings back!)

Swimming:  She is oh so close to swimming without floats and we've been going as many days as possible to my Aunt's lake house 5 miles away.  Bea loves jumping off the dock and going under water!:

and of course no swim is complete without a break to construct a sand palace:

My little frog still loves this towel!

(and if anyone has any tricks for speeding up the teeth-losing process, please advise!)

Our long string of "nothing" days is coming to an end on Thursday when we head to, as Bea would say "drum roll please..........," VIETNAM CULTURE CAMP in the Berkshires. We are so looking forward to this exciting venture with over 120 adoptive families from all over the country. Should be lots to post after that.  Then hopefully, another string of "nothing" days before we head to the beach at the end of the month.