This week we had our own "big trip" while Daddy was gone and went to visit Nana and Papa Bear. The girls were fantastic travelers, and they spent a fair amount of time trying to remember things about Nana and Papa Bear's house (we haven't been in over a year; although they've come to visit us). There were loud cheers coming from the backseat the moment we turned onto their road!

Movies of Books

On the drive to Nana and Papa Bear's we pulled out the portable DVD player (a lifesaver on these long roadtrips), and the entourage was very excited about watching Disney's Peter Pan since we recently finished reading the book. They noted that Tinker Bell looks very different from the book pictures, but that Peter Pan still rescues his friends, and that Captain Hook is still silly. While at Nana and Papa Bear's, we also watched the Wizard of Oz (One of Papa Bear's favorite movies, so that worked out nicely). Monkey was absolutely enthralled. Bug was scared of the witch and the flying monkeys, but it definitely helped that we had read the book and she knew that Dorothy would get home in the end.

Swimming

We went to a church pool party with Nana and Papa Bear, and Monkey and Bug loved being able to show off their skills to such an appreciative audience. This was another pool where they could touch the bottom. Goose loved having an adult's undivided attention the whole time, so she never had to be fished out when she jumped in. This pool also had a real kiddie pool that was probably a foot or so deep that Goose loved bouncing in. She even made a new friend who had a bottle she could make bubbles underwater with--very popular.

Zoo Day

Tuesday morning Nana and Papa Bear took the entourage to the zoo, and I got a morning off. They were very excited to tell me all about it when they got home! They saw lots of animals (zebras, elephants, and flamigos among the favorites; the howler monkeys were disappointingly out of sight), remembered to squish pennies (our family's tradition), and even got to ride the carousel.

Gone Fishin'

I don't remember anymore what initiated it, but Monkey and Bug have been insisting for months that when we went to Nana and Papa Bear's they wanted Papa Bear to take them fishing. He was more than happy to oblige and bought them little poles for the purpose. He made a pretend one for Goose with a dowel rod, a bit of string, and a wooden fish that she loved. The actual stand-at-the-edge-of-the-lake-and-fish part didn't last long, but the girls were fanscinated with the process and particularly with the live worms used as bait (Bug, peering at the wiggly worm on her hook: "Does that worm know he has a hole in him?"). Monkey and Bug didn't catch anything, but Papa Bear did! They were pretty excited to see the fish up close, but disappointed that we had to throw it back instead of eating it.

Perhaps as much the fishing, they loved the hayride that Papa Bear rigged up for them in a trailer behind his big riding mower to get them to and from the fishing spot, and the watermelon that Nana had waiting for us when we got back to the house. It was one of those evenings that perfect childhood memories are made of!

Bookstore!

We didn't have library day this week, but we did visit an absolutely fabulous used bookstore about 45 minutes from Nana and Papa Bear's house. The girls had a good time looking at books and getting Nana to read some, and we came home with the following books to add to our library:

• King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates, Heidi (these three are Illustrated Classics the girls picked out)
• Whinnie the Pooh (the A. A. Milne chapter book, not the Disney versions)
• The Wizard of Oz (a nicely illustrated original; we've already started reading this one at their insistence)
• Jack and the Beanstalk
• The Golden Guide to Birds, The Golden Guide to Trees, A First Guide to Insects (these three are small full-color field guides that you might say will be a large part of our science "curriculum" for the next couple of years at least)
• Half a dozen or more small Bible story books to put in rotation in the girls busy bag for church.
• We also came home with a book for me to read, Frames of Mind, about multiple intelligences, which I expect will be influential in the entourage's education for years to come.

We ate at a Japanese restaurant one night,
and Monkey proved pretty adept with chopsticks.

Nana and Papa Bear's neighbors have a couple of pet ducks that we went to visit.
Goose, at least, thought it was great and was willing to feed and pet the ducks.