From The Normans: My Kind of Longwood

It was a beautiful day today. Amazing. Crystal clear. Cool. No school, for perhaps one of the last Fridays ever. Sounded like a perfect day to trek to Longwood for a couple hours in the afternoon, between Erin's naps.

Dexter starts a new preschool next Monday, and will go on Monday and Friday. He'll go to his other school on Tues/Wed/Thurs. So we don't have any free week days any more. Which makes me a little bit sad. And also a little bit happy. Sad because I liked Friday outings. Happy because if an outing is not possible, now I don't have to figure out how to fill up Fridays. Til Thanksgiving break. And Christmas break. And Spring Break. And the middle of May. This new school is a bunch of slackers...

Anyway. Longwood. We had an early lunch, got Erin up from her morning nap, and off we went. Dexter fed some fish while Erin ate lunch, picnic style, at the side of the pond. We checked out some tree houses. We watched some fountains. And with the little bit of time we had left before we needed to get home for Erin's second nap we played in the outdoor children's garden. Because that one, Dexter says, is more fun than the one inside.

Dexter watches fish patiently while waiting for Erin to finish her lunch, so we can go to the other pond and feed the bigger fish. He was so patient while waiting that he got a yummy molasses cookie, for his efforts.

Picnic lunch for Erin

Here we are, kind of, in the Canopy Treehouse

Looks like both kids share the love of the Italian Water Garden

YAY! Fountains!

I love this little series of photos of Erin trying to get a better view of the lawn mower down below her. Screw the fountains. She just wants to see the loud thing that moves.

Dexter feeding fish

Erin feeding, errrr... Erin.

I love these couple photos, as well, of Dexter dancing on the glass floor of the Birdhouse Treehouse. We haven't been to this treehouse in a while. Dexter told me when we were going there today that we had never been there. No, no, I said. That's not right. We went there with Aunt Jeanne and we danced on the glass floor. His little eyes lit up. And then he did this.

If only Aunt Jeanne were here today. But, alas, she is in NY getting ready for her enormous yard sale.

Little Miss Loungey, in a chair in the children's garden. She cracks me up all the time with her lounging. She'll crawl up to me, look to see that she's close enough, and will just lean back against me and lounge for a bit before she gets bored and crawls away.

Butterfly Baby. After I took her picture, Dexter asked if you have to take a picture when you sit in the butterfly chair. Like, you know, is it a RULE that you take a picture of someone sitting in that chair. Well, yes, child. Yes. It's a RULE.