"MORE boy cousins????"

 While we were away in Maryland, my cousin Ellenore and her family visited from their Sacramento home and stayed in our house.  The boys fell in love with Atticus apparently and the feeling was mutual:

Luckily their stay included a few days beyond our return so we got to spend too little time together, but it was wonderful.  We all went to mass at my Uncle Richard's chapel. Here he is with 3 out of 34 (?) of his great nephews/nieces. He was always one of the favorite uncles and some things never change.

We spent the afternoon at The Shack, our beloved family cabin that was a huge part of my childhood summers.  I'm not positive but I think this may actually be the first time The Shack, on Schoolhouse Pond,  appears on this blog!  Sadly, we just don't get there much anymore.  As soon as I opened the front door and took in the sights and smells I was flooded with memories, all of them joyous.

And, despite Bea's disappointment upon hearing that the twins we were going to see after coming home from Maryland were BOYS, this 7-year old had a delightful time with these handsome and sweet 8 1/2 year olds.  We saw them last more than three years ago, and hopefully it won't be as long before the next visit!

My Uncle Paul, Ellenore's Dad, Aunt Marianna, Aunt Denise, Uncle Glen, and Uncle Henry were with us for a time. Then my brother stopped by for a surprise "hello:"

   This yard used to be filled with dozens and dozens of people in the 70's and 80's with many a family party.  Every corner of it brought back more memories and it was so special to see the next generation playing together and enjoying it:

(this side was my favorite spot as a hammock used to hang between the two middle trees.  It continues to be one of the most serene places in my life.)

My nephews recently put a bench on the property in memory of my brother, as The Shack held such a special place in his heart.  This photo makes me giggle as poor Daniel served the rest of his time-out time on it for cussing at his brother.  I'm sure my big brother was getting an empathic laugh from up above!

How was Maryland, Beatrice? : "Too Many Boy Cousins!"

Don't let her fool you. Maryland was an absolute blast.  9 days, 21 people rotating in and out of the beach house, a bushel of crabs, many late nights, several karaoke songs sun, hundreds of waves ridden, dozens of games of Sleeping Queens, and enough sun, laughs, and family love to (hopefully) get us through the school year and seasons until we can do it again next summer!

(It was Bea + all boys for most of the trip until newly turned-10-year-old Linden showed up with Lolo and Lola for a few days. These two had a blast together and after several misogynistic initial hours, Bea decided to share her with Truman and Hank)

Meanwhile, our two girls sure were wiped out when we got home!  Let the vacation from vacation begin!

Annual trip to see the sunflowers at sunset

It was Buttonwood Farm time again and the sunshine cooperated fully, only we forgot to put the flash card in the good camera (oops) and didn't brave the line for ice cream.  All in all though, the view was worth the 1/2 hour drive and we came back to Putnam for dessert! Here's what the cell phone caught:

(and here's a flashback to July 2011:)

It's Official.....

We have another swimmer in the house!  My #1 goal of summer was to get Bea really swimming, and it's been inching toward that for the past week or so.  She got a standing ovation at the pool at Culture Camp, but yesterday and today, she's doing this like crazy....

Vietnam Culture Camp & The Berkshires

Last Thursday we headed to our much-anticipated Culture Camp.  We mosied up to NW Mass, stopping in Shelburn Falls to see the incredible Bridge of Flowers and Glacial Potholes:

Next up was North Adams, and a stop to see Sol Dewitt's walls, among other awesome things, at Mass MOCA:

I know my kid has seen a lot of great art because upon exiting the bathroom at a diner in Shelburn Falls, she saw a group of Campbell's coup cans on the shelves and said "Look, they have Andy Warhols!"

She had a blast touring through these hand-painted tents:

We took this selfie in the KidSpace section:

Finally, it was check-in time at camp.  We were greeted warmly by over 50 counselors and 130+ families, including the Chazanoffs who were right next door to us. The girls had so much fun together, especially in the windows of our hotel rooms, which they turned into castles and became queens on thrones! By dinner time, Bea was proudly wearing her t-shirt and running around with all the kids:

It was amazing to see these hundreds of kids altogether, having so much fun and feeling so safe together in this resort. She and Rachel were in Group 1 with a dozen or more kids their age and they had so much fun spending the mornings together doing crafts, yoga, sampling food, learning a few Vietnamese words, and just plain being kids:

There was a talent show and a water balloon toss too:

Anthony and I attended morning sessions for the parents and in the afternoon we'd swim in the pool and do some family sessions, like listening to Vietnamese Children's Stories, 

painting lanterns, attending cooking shows, and sampling our creations:

One of the highlights was Night Market on Saturday when the kids got dressed up and got a chance to play games, gamble, karaoke, dance, play "pin the non la on the man," etc.  Bea loved the bau cua table!

               

                     It was a big dose of Vietnamese pride for these girls and their families!

Here's a few of the members of Group 1:  

Beatrice cried herself to sleep Saturday, so very sad about having to leave camp the next day, and to leave this friend Amelia.  All the more reason to go back another year!

Banh Mi sandwiches were the goodbye picnic lunch food:

Tired as we were, we trekked just a little bit out of the way to see the Van Gogh exhibit at the Clark Institute in Williamstown.  Beatrice loved the swirly colors, despite the appearance of wanting to run away in this photograph:

The weather warmed up and we cooled down with an ice cream out by the water:

It was a long weekend of fun, emotions, and reflection for all of us, and I am positive it will be one of many camp experiences in our lifetime.