Beach Week
Last week we had a great vacation in Misquamicut (near Westerly) Rhode Island. We rented an apartment that was a five-minute walk from the beach. Ethan had a great time playing in the waves, including: karate chopping them, diving through them, jumping over them, running away from them, and riding a boogie board in them. He built several impressive sand castles, and then had fun destroying them. 
Considering what a rainy summer it’s been, we lucked out and had about four fabulous days. The water was warm enough that we could swim, even on the days it was cloudy and foggy. I really enjoyed being away from work for a week, and I think Ethan appreciated spending a lot of time not having to do much of anything. Most mornings we ate breakfast at a little place on the beach at the end of our street. The food wasn’t great, but the view couldn’t be beat.
Ethan also had the chance to play a lot with Julia, who was down there for the week with her family at their vacation house. Even though she’s 12, they played together really well (maybe partly because neither of them had anyone else their own age to play with). Julia showed Ethan how to catch crabs with pieces of hot dog and squid, how to ride a skim board, and pulled him in the wagon down to the beach.
On Wednesday we met Dave, Amy, Laura and Michael at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. We saw Beluga whales, petted rays, fed birds, saw a sea-lion show, and Ethan managed to get the penguins to chase after his finger through an underwater window at their exhibit. It was great to see Laura and Michael, and how much they’ve grown! I love that Laura and Ethan are in the same grade. A typical Ethan story: Ethan remembered how much Michael loved cars from last summer, and so brought one of his cars to give to Michael.
Another typical Ethan story: This morning Mark had to get up at 5am to take a flight out of town for work. He went to say goodbye to Ethan in his room before he left, but Ethan wasn’t there. He came back upstairs and showed me that Ethan had crawled under our bed at some point in the middle of the night, and was fast asleep in one of his blankets on the floor. With Ethan, I can never quite tell whether he does things like that because he really wants to be in our room and/or because he wants to do something different and/or to see how sneaky he can be. I am sure that if he had to sleep in our room all the time, he would be sneaking downstairs to be in his own room after a while.
And one more characteristic Ethan story: This morning we were both awake since 6am because of Mark’s early departure, so I took Ethan down to the camp’s early drop-off at 7:30am. There weren’t many kids there, and Ethan got suddenly shy because he found out that he was in a different group now that reading camp is over, with new counselors. Even though this is the same kid who walks up to complete strangers and starts conversations, charms random people with his smile and comments, and is one of the cooler kids at school, he wanted me to take him back later when I could be with him to introduce him to the counselor. Sure! Do you think I could get a hug too?
Considering what a rainy summer it’s been, we lucked out and had about four fabulous days. The water was warm enough that we could swim, even on the days it was cloudy and foggy. I really enjoyed being away from work for a week, and I think Ethan appreciated spending a lot of time not having to do much of anything. Most mornings we ate breakfast at a little place on the beach at the end of our street. The food wasn’t great, but the view couldn’t be beat.
Ethan also had the chance to play a lot with Julia, who was down there for the week with her family at their vacation house. Even though she’s 12, they played together really well (maybe partly because neither of them had anyone else their own age to play with). Julia showed Ethan how to catch crabs with pieces of hot dog and squid, how to ride a skim board, and pulled him in the wagon down to the beach.
On Wednesday we met Dave, Amy, Laura and Michael at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. We saw Beluga whales, petted rays, fed birds, saw a sea-lion show, and Ethan managed to get the penguins to chase after his finger through an underwater window at their exhibit. It was great to see Laura and Michael, and how much they’ve grown! I love that Laura and Ethan are in the same grade. A typical Ethan story: Ethan remembered how much Michael loved cars from last summer, and so brought one of his cars to give to Michael.
Another typical Ethan story: This morning Mark had to get up at 5am to take a flight out of town for work. He went to say goodbye to Ethan in his room before he left, but Ethan wasn’t there. He came back upstairs and showed me that Ethan had crawled under our bed at some point in the middle of the night, and was fast asleep in one of his blankets on the floor. With Ethan, I can never quite tell whether he does things like that because he really wants to be in our room and/or because he wants to do something different and/or to see how sneaky he can be. I am sure that if he had to sleep in our room all the time, he would be sneaking downstairs to be in his own room after a while.
And one more characteristic Ethan story: This morning we were both awake since 6am because of Mark’s early departure, so I took Ethan down to the camp’s early drop-off at 7:30am. There weren’t many kids there, and Ethan got suddenly shy because he found out that he was in a different group now that reading camp is over, with new counselors. Even though this is the same kid who walks up to complete strangers and starts conversations, charms random people with his smile and comments, and is one of the cooler kids at school, he wanted me to take him back later when I could be with him to introduce him to the counselor. Sure! Do you think I could get a hug too?
posted by AttitudeAdopt | 6:03 AM
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