First Day of Kindergarten

How did this happen?  Where did the time go?
He is excited.
I feel sad.  So, so sad!
Yesterday I asked G what he wanted to be when he grows up and he said: "Can I just stay home and be yours all the time?"  Of course, I said "YES!"
Today he told me he wants to be a doctor.
Counting the minutes until I can pick him up from school.

Update:  He said his day was "super-duper-super-duper-super fun!"

New beds.

The kids got their new beds!  Finally!  We waited for 6 long weeks for them to get here (they were on back order).

After much research, I got G a new non-toxic mattress (or maybe I should say "much less toxic than other mattresses" mattress) without the Boric acid (roach killer) and (brominated) PBDE fire retardants (a chemical that disrupts human thyroid hormone functioning).  
And, we also got an organic, fire retardants-free mattress cover for him.

For Annika, we got a mattress that has no fire retardants at all!  Instead, it has a wool cover, a completely natural fire retardant! Wool is also self extinguishing.

Researching non-toxic mattresses gave me a massive headache!  Why is everything so poisonous and complicated?  Why is it that more natural products are more expensive?
I have a lot more planned for re-doing their rooms.  Next, we need to get new dressers and nightstands, lamps and rugs.

Want to know more about toxic mattresses?  Start your research here!
Bedding: Target and Pottery Barn Kids.
Mattress cover: Naturepedic.  Available on Amazon.

Beds: Crate and Barrel's Land of Nod, Full Chocolate Walden Bed and Twin White Walden Bed.
I absolutely love Crate & Barrel furniture!  It is worth every penny!

Quick trip to the beach.

15 on the 15th - Today is our 15th wedding anniversary!

❤ ♡ ❤

On Saturday, we woke up late and then sat around for bit.  I wanted to go the Dinosaur Park in Connecticut, but at the last minute decided we should go to the beach instead.
G was feeling better.  He had a slight fever on Friday and he continued to have a pretty bad cough every now & then. He also complained about itchy skin, but Benadryl and Aveeno lotion helped with that.  I thought the ocean air would be good for him.

We decided to check out a new-to-us beach in York, Maine.  I wanted to get there around 2:30pm, because the high tide was at 2:08pm that day and I personally hate coming to the beach before high tide.

We left at 1pm and drove directly to "Lobster in The Rough" to get some lunch before going swimming.  What a nice place! Joseph's lobster roll was amazing! I got fried scallops and they were just as amazing.  

The kids had fish and chips.  Annika also enjoyed some of my scallops.

Long Beach in York, ME
We got there after high tide!  Perfect timing!

Joseph and G swam the whole time.

After the beach, we stopped by the "Hanna Andersson" outlet and got Annika a new swimsuit (without any Disney Princesses on it! YAY!) and a new winter coat.  Getting ready for school!

We got home around 9pm.  It was definitely a great day.  I love discovering new beaches and new seafood stands.

Speaking of school, today I registered G for drawing classes at the local art school, as well as piano lessons.  We are also going to register him for swimming in September when the registration starts (his instructor said he is ready to move to the next level!) and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (want to try a free class first).

G also requested to do tennis, soccer, horseback riding and ice skating.   Not sure when we can find time for all that!  He is really good at ice skating, so I'm not sure he needs lessons, especially because we are not interested in doing hockey.  

I will look into horseback riding for both of them when the town catalog comes in the mail.

I registered Annika for ballet and gymnastics.  She also wants to do horseback riding lessons and ice skating.

We will be busy this fall!  But, for now, we will enjoy our summer.

Christmas in July - "Santa's Village"

Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh. Hey! 

Another fun park in New Hampshire. It was recommended to us by the parents of one of G's classmates, so we went there on July 19th.
As soon as we walked inside the park, there were carolers singing Christmas carols.  So fun!  Such a cute place.
It is smaller than "Story Land", but cheaper (kids 4 and under are free) and there is also a water park there.
The park was practically EMPTY!  There were no lines anywhere, as most people were at the water park area.
Annika's favorite ride was the carousel, and she went on it at least 50 times that day.  My head was spinning!

The view from the Skyway Sleigh

Real live reindeers were one of the best parts of the park.  We fed them carrots and apples for the longest time.  They were just so amazing and cute and sweet and soft.

MVI 2371 from Ksenia on Vimeo.

MVI 2359 from Ksenia on Vimeo.
Annika got a stuffed reindeer and she showed it off to the real reindeers.

Joseph and G on the ferris wheel.

Strawberry ice cream.

Car chase!  They are catching us!!!

We have arrived at the water park.

G and Joseph rode some really big slides at least a 100 times.  G absolutely loved it!

Scary!

Back to the park for a little bit.

And then we went to see Santa himself!

We took a picture with Santa.  It turned out so sweet!

I may or may not use it for our Christmas cards this year.

Time to decorate some cookies!

At the North Pole.

And, back to the water park

Such a beautiful area!  We can't wait to go back to "Santa's Village" next year!