Ecotarium

Last week we went to Ecotarium in Worcester for a couple of hours.  The admission was free through the Reciprocal Admission program.
They had a fun "Alice in the Wonderland" exhibit, where the kids spent the majority of their time.
This was Joseph's first and our second trip to the museum.

Experiencing hurricane wind.  G didn't love it.  He said he was afraid that he would fly away.

Looking at waves:

Her friend gave her this dress.  It is size 5/6, but she had to wear it.  Also, she is refusing to smile here.

Bees.  G wanted to see the Queen Bee, but we couldn't find her. 

The only one in our family who isn't afraid of standing on a glass floor.

Ready for a train ride around Ecotarium.

Cuteness!

Cheshire cat.

My BIG Alice girl.

Tennis

We try to squeeze some tennis practice whenever we can.
Last Sunday we stopped at the tennis court of G's future elementary school.
There are 4 tennis courts and they were all empty (probably because it was 90F again).  We practiced balancing the ball, serving and hitting.
Here, they are playing with standard compression balls, since I didn't have the low compression ones with me at the time.  The kids have a much easier time playing tennis with low compression balls, since they are lighter and softer.

Balancing the ball on the racquet.

G is getting so good at hitting the balls!!!

We didn't play for long, because of the heat.  Thankfully, the temperatures finally went down to mid-80's and we got some nice rain.

July 4th Fireworks.

We weren't planning on going to see fireworks on the 4th, since we already saw them on the 3rd.
It turned out to be a crazy hot day (91F)!  Our friends invited us to swim at their pool and they grilled us a wonderful lunch.
We got home and were having fun doing nothing, but then Joseph asked the kids if they wanted to see fireworks again and they said 'yes', so we decided to go at the last minute.  We got there after 8PM.  The place was packed and, while walking around finding a place to sit, we saw some of our friends and sat near them.
The fireworks lasted a long time and the kids loved it.  They even honored the Marathon bombing victims by singing "Sweet Caroline".
I'm glad we went, even though I didn't want to at first.

Here is the the grand finale.  How awesome is it? The crowd was clearly impressed!

MVI 1831 from Ksenia on Vimeo.

Fireworks on the 3rd of July.

On the 3rd of July we went to an Independence Day celebration with a couple of friends.  We had a great time, the weather was nice, and the fireworks were beautiful!

Giving kisses to his favorite sister.

A little dancing.

First trip to the ocean this year.

There is a heat wave in MA right now. The temperature is close to 90F every day.

You'd think I would be okay with it, after living in Texas for 10 years, but no.  I got used to cold winters and cool summers very fast.

We slept in late and then decided to drive to Maine, do some outlet shopping, eat awesome food, then spend some time at the beach.

It turned out to be a wonderful day!  I love living here!

Annika has arrived at the beach and is looking for a spot to sit.

Rock climbing.

Quiet mama, I'm busy!

Ready to play some tennis right after swimming.  Annika HATES missing the ball!  She gets so upset and hits the ground with the racquet!  It's a funny sight.

Saw a brave otter (or something).

And then we had a nice walk by the beach.  

The kids are now sleeping.  They were so busy today.