Henry will tell you he doesn't like playing baseball, but when he's on the field he generally has a smile on his face or is doing a happy dance. It is a big time commitment for a seven year old who would stay at home playing Wii all day if he could, but the kid can really swing the bat and loves hitting the ball. Still afraid of the ball out in the field, but he did have one incredible inning at third base when he made three putouts. (Might have been his only three putouts of the year?) The machine-pitch Rockies had great coaches and a great group of boys that Henry loved to play with (even if he didn't always know it). I (Aaron) got to help out as a coach here and there, and if there is a heaven, I hope it includes getting to play baseball with kids. I saw every game except the last one, in which Henry hit a grand slam. They start keeping score next year. Not sure I'm ready for that.
May 23—25: Omaha
Laura already did a post on our Omaha trip, but it was a great kickoff to an action packed summer. Time with John, Sarah, Luke, and Cole, a rainy but fun Storm Chasers game, the zoo, and A HOTEL! Our kids think staying at hotels is about the coolest thing.
June 4—July 9: Frances's Amazing Athletes Class
Franny did five sessions at the Minnetonka Community Education Center (MCEC) in a great class that incorporated warm-up exercises, a little yoga, and basic introduction to all sorts of sports (football, tennis, lacrosse, baseball, hockey, soccer) and she loved it. She surprised me sometimes with how well she could throw, shoot a puck, etc.
June 8: Henry's Last Day of 1st Grade
Henry had an excellent teacher, Sra. Albina, who was amazingly perceptive and responsive to Henry's strengths and needs. Hanky got pulled out of class for lots of things this year: two "academic extension" classes (math and reading), a visit with the school counselor (suggested by Sra. Albina) after Laura's surgery just to check in and make sure he was handling it OK, Project Primary (suggested by Sra. Albina) to work on social skills and self-confidence, and a few sessions of speech (after an assessment recommended by Sra. Albina) at the end of the year (which will continue in 2nd grade). The level of care for Henry at Clear Springs has been touching and reassuring. Hanky would occasionally complain about not liking school, but was almost always happy to be dropped off in the morning and happy when picked up in the afternoon. Just like his Kindergarten teacher, Sra. Albina is not coming back to Clear Springs, and we'll miss them both. Henry said he hopes his 3rd grade teacher sticks around. Franny and I went to a little last day party on the playground (where I thought I was taking pictures but didn't have the memory card in the camera).
June 9—July 21: Henry's Playground Group
Minnetonka has a free summer program for kids to be supervised at playgrounds in the mornings, and Henry made it probably half the time or more down to Boulder Creek Park. He didn't know any other kids and was worried about that, but made a friend on the first day named Jack. Jack brought his Yugi-Oh cards, so Henry had an in. Henry brought his Yugi-Oh and Pokemon cards every time he went to the park from then on, and shadowed Jack. I was a little disappointed that Henry seemed to sit out of just about all physical activity in favor of sitting and looking at cards all morning each time he went, and that he felt lost on the few days Jack wasn't there, but it's a great program for getting him outside and letting someone else take care of him for a bit.
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| walking home from "Bolber" Creek (as Fran says) |
Laura organized a picnic at the beach to celebrate the end of school with Malcolm, Ruby, Mim, Lottie, Renae, Sarah, and Val, but then was feeling awful with her somnolence syndrome so didn't even get to go. But the kids had a great time.
June 14, July 4, 11: Aaron's Quicksteps Vintage Base Ball
I joined a vintage base ball team playing by the rules of the 1860s. Most of the games were too far away or I had conflicts with, but when I managed to make it to a game, it was super fun. Our softball team didn't come together this summer, so it was great to get to play a little ball. I imagine I'll keep playing for a long time, health willing.
June 17: Cousins Photo Shoot For Grandpa's Father's Day Present
June 20—26: Stilley Vacation at Gull Lake
The extended Stilley clan spent a wonderful week together near Brainerd, MN. Laura was still a little zapped from somnolence syndrome, but it was otherwise an idyllic trip. The cousins played fantastically well together (not always the case on previous trips!) which allowed the adults to enjoy ourselves too. Jenny and my mom came up with a great itinerary before the trip that had us going to the Safari North zoo, canoeing on the Mississippi, Paul Bunyan Land amusement park, a day on a pontoon, roasting marshmallows, relaxing at the rental home, getting lost on a hike, lunch and turtle racing in Nisswa, taking turns cooking, etc., etc. I'm usually ready to be done even at the end of good trips, but I could have stayed a few more days on this one.
On our way back home we stopped at the Charles A. Lindbergh Home in Little Falls, and Grammy & Poppy stayed a couple of extra days with us in Minnetonka.
June 29—July 9: Henry & Frances Swim Lessons at Foss
Both kids did a two week/eight lesson swim camp at the same time but in separate classes. Henry really took to the water this summer more than he ever had, and loved his lessons. Franny had a harder time, particularly on the first day when she pretty much decided she wasn't going to do anything but sit in the pool with her head down and cry. Things got a lot better from there, but she was still fairly reticent for most of the lessons. She did get to the point where she'd blow some bubbles and float on her back, so some progress was made. Henry couldn't get enough swimming all summer, and by request is doing more lessons at Foss this fall.
July 4—5: Staycation in St. Paul
The kids had been begging us to go to another hotel ever since Omaha, so we decided to try something we'd never done: a night at a hotel in town! We settled on the Embassy Suites in downtown St. Paul, which proved to be a good spot. The first order of business was swimming, then we walked to Mickey's Diner for dinner, then back to the room for lots of TV watching. In the morning it was a hotel breakfast, more swimming, and then to lunch at Lord Fletcher's with the Solyntjes clan.
July 9: The Craziest Day of the Summer
I intentionally scheduled the kids pretty full this summer (with breaks built in too), and it worked out great, except for one day. Every activity seemed to overlap on July 9. Franny had a ballet camp start in the morning, then they both had swim lessons in the early afternoon. Franny squeezed in a post-lunch nap, and I gave her the option of going to the final Amazing Athletes session. She wanted to! So we did that in the mid-afternoon, grabbed a quick bite at Wendy's, dropped Henry off at baseball practice, took Franny back home to be with Mom, then went back to pick up Henry. It actually worked out fine, just too much driving time for Dad.
July 9—30: Franny's Frozen Ballet Camp at MCEC
Franny was in heaven at these four ballet classes, dancing to songs from Frozen. I unfortunately couldn't see her while she was dancing, but she was always beaming after class and would show me some moves when we got home. There was 10 minutes at the end of the last class where family got to go in and watch. Pretty adorable. Ballet is definitely her top choice of activities right now.
July 11: Henry & Laura's Tonka Mud Run
July 13: Morrissey
Laura and me tried out this weird thing where we go out without the kids. We saw Morrissey at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, and it was nice to get out, but we were both a little disappointed with the show. It had its moments, but something was missing compared to the other two times I've seen him.
July 20—24: Henry's Cartoon Camp
This was a four day camp at Scenic Heights Elementary at which Henry drew a different comic book every day. He enjoyed it well enough, but it seemed to just be rote copying of what the teacher showed them to draw.
July 25: Henry & Mama Archery
July 26: Malcolm B-Day Party/Trivia
After a fun birthday at the park for Malcolm, the kids stayed with Grandma & Grandpa while Mom & Dad played some trivia with softball cronies. Good times plus a victory!
July 27—31: Henry's Viking Saga Camp at The Oakshott Institute
This was an all-day, five day camp. It was right up Henry's alley, run by experts on Viking history and featuring history lessons, making his own shield, and Viking-inspired games such as javelin throwing, dodge ball with shields, axe throwing, and sword fights. The downside for Dad was having to fight rush hour traffic way across town twice a day. Henry better hope I forget how much I hated the driving by the time we need to sign up for next year's Oakshott camps. By luck, his buddy Huxley was signed up for the camp too.
August 5: Frances's Princess Art Class at MCEC
A one-morning art class. I screwed this one up a little by telling Frances I'd be staying at the class with her, assuming for some reason it was a parent-child class. All her other art classes had been! But when we got there it was a room full of little girls and one teacher. No parents. Uh-oh. I tried to explain to Franny, but she started melting down, so I told her I'd stay for 10 minutes or so. Cue 10 minutes of awkward sitting in the corner while the young teacher starts the class, but at least Franny is happy and participating. I say my goodbye quickly, at which point she starts melting down again, but I take off. I was 93% sure she would get over it quickly, and we found out later she did. Overall, a success. Maybe a preview of how preschool drop-off will go for awhile.
August 8—15: Solyntjes Vacation at Lake Shamineau
Our families independently both chose lake homes near Brainerd for get-aways this summer, but that was fine with us! We figured we'd end up repeating some of the same activities, but we didn't. Between swimming, playing on the beach, mini-golf, go-karts, fishing, pinball, kayaking, golf, cards, relaxing at the cabin, a campfire, and meteor watching, there was plenty to keep everyone happy. I inexplicably got really sick one day, but luckily no one else did. Franny was very attached herself to Aunt Emily all week! More great family time.
August 17—21: Henry Golf Lessons at Glen Lake
Hard to get much out of Hanky about this camp except that it was "good." He and Franny both liked getting Icees in the clubhouses after most lessons.
August 22—September 1: Aaron, Henry & Franny Trip To Kansas City/Laura Has Too Much Fun By Herself At Home
The end of summer trip to Grammy & Poppy's house seems to be a yearly tradition now, with no activities offered for the end of August and school not starting until after Labor Day. Laura didn't make it down for any of the time this year, but she was happy to have so much time all to herself. She tried out cooking complicated Indian dishes, kayaked the St. Croix River with Jackie, went to a ballet with Jackie, watched whatever movies she wanted, and probably other stuff too. I didn't have it so bad either with built-in babysitters, and got out to a Royals game with just John and a great stand-up comedy festival on my birthday with friends. With the kids, we did the zoo, a Royals game, Deanna Rose Farmstead, Oklahoma Joe's, swimming, pontoon, cards, visited Granddaddy in Liberty, and played with cousins and Grammy and Poppy to their heart's content. Just Henry and Poppy spent a long afternoon at Cool Crest playing mini-golf and arcade games.
September 5: Renaissance Festival
This is the third summer in a row we've gone to the Ren Fest, mostly because there's a few things for both kids that they just love. For Franny, that's the Fairy Forest and the mermaids, and for Henry, shooting arrows, throwing stars, and getting to pick out a souvenir. Franny chose a garland for her hair and Henry a wooden sword. We went with Sarah, Mim, Lottie, and their Grandma Sue and had a good time, if tempered by the crowd and heat. As we fought an exhausted, screaming Franny to buckle up in the car afterwards, we thought it might be OK to take a break from this activity next summer.
September 8: Henry's First Day of 2nd Grade
(And Franny's first day of pre-school coming up on September 15.)
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