Hooray for Wednesday

Wednesday can be a drag - especially in the summer - we're so close but yet so far to summer weekend fun! So we've been getting out and about on Wednesdays this summer - starting with our trip to a nearby farm for Pirates and Princesses night:

After we mixed and mingled with Jack Sparrow and the Princesses, we played on the farm's playground:

And had a yummy dinner and some deep conversations with our pals:

The following Wednesday we went to the Garden State Discovery Museum for "Groovin' and Grubbin'" 

The intention was to get a bite to eat, take advantage of the museum's $5 admission price, and then hear some music.  We never made it into the museum thanks to all the fun activities such as a bouncy house!

There were crafts and food trucks (grilled cheese! cupcakes! watermelon!) and then there was an awesome kids' concert.  The kids had a blast dancing and wiggling to the music.  It turns out this musician came to their school a few days later - the kids were thrilled!

Then we played in the museum's garden:

The next Wednesday we went to Collingswood to check out the Quaker City String Band perform.  We got some "wudder" ice, too!

And then last night, Mommy was NOT in the mood to cook.  So we went to Chipotle for dinner.  The kids' meal is idea - Sean eats the quesadilla and chips while Clare eats the rice and beans... and lemons, of course:

There was a concert going on near the restaurant - Hotlanta, an Allman Brothers tribute band!  We bumped into a few friends - the friends we met up with at Pirates and Princesses night, actually - and the kids danced, ran around, and amassed a small collection of balloon animals while listening to some good tunes :-)

When I picked the kids up from daycare tonight, Sean eagerly asked if we were going to another concert tonight!  He was sad when I said we weren't but we did get to go check out a new farmers' market - it wasn't nearly as good as good as the Farmer's El, but we did pick up some good corn and tomatoes.

Weekend

We kicked off last weekend with something different - camping in the backyard!

The kids helped set up the tent:

And then we made a fire and had s'mores!

When the kids had their fill of s'mores, we hung around the fire a bit more.  After awhile, we went back in to change into pajamas and brush our teeth.  Then we came back outside to sleep in the tent!  All four of us slept all night long in the tent with the kids snuggled in the middle and Mommy and Daddy taking turns getting pushed off the air mattress :-)  The kids were up super-early since they woke up once the sun was fully up at about 6:00 am (they normally wake up between 7 and 8). Clare wasn't ready for her close-up yet, though:

After a little bit of rest and some breakfast, Mommy took the kids to the Farmer's El for corn, tomatoes, and peaches! Our typical place setting at snack time - pretty flowers, kettle corn, and a muffin - minus the iced coffee (which I downed thanks to the early start we got):

Playing and dancing while listening to some music:

When we got back home, the kids were ready for naps - ASAP.  Sean went straight up to bed and Clare snuggled with Daddy:

After naps, the kids had some friends over for some backyard water splash day fun.  They had a great time and were ready for bed right away on Saturday night.  We let the kids have a lazy morning on Sunday - goofing around:

And then Mommy took Sean to a birthday party at South Jersey's newest attraction - Diggerland! Diggerland is a construction-themed amusement park that uses real equipment re-purposed or toned down for rides and activities.  Sean had a blast!

On the Spin Dizzy ride:

On the "scooper merry-go-round":

Sean and Mommy on the "Sky Shuttle" (it was super super high!):

Mommy and Sean drove a Dumper Truck and a Skid Steer, too!

Sean and Mommy operated a big digger together and then Sean got to work this mini-digger on his own:

We even had time to try some rock climbing and play at the arcade ...

 

...before pizza and Lego cake!

The fun continued on Monday - the kids had Little Kicks after school!

Sean had a great night - he scored two goals :-)

Celebrity Encounters

Sean's had quite a few brushes with notable personalities in the past couple of weeks.  First, his class took a field trip to a local theater to see a production of Disney's "Aladdin" and after the show, the cast mingled with the audience. I asked Sean what he liked best about the show and told me, "Jafar gave me a punch!  He punched me on the hand! And I punched him back on the hand." I asked Sean a few more questions about this hand-punching and was able to deduce that Sean was talking about getting a fist-bump from Jafar :-)

Next, I took the kids to the library the other night and Sean got some face-time with the mayor! We were walking up the path to the front door of the municipal building (the library is located inside the municipal building) and Sean hid behind a pillar to try to surprise me, but picked the wrong side of the pillar and ended surprising the mayor, who was on his way into a town council meeting!  The mayor chatted with Sean for a few minutes before going on his way.  This is extra-notable since our mayor happens to be a kicking coach for an NFL team!

And finally, Sean - and Clare, too - met some pirates and princesses!  We went to a nearby farm to meet up with some pals for a Pirate & Princess Party.  The kids mingled with Jack Sparrow, Snow White, Merida, and of course - Anna and Elsa!!

Sean had a long chat with Princess Merida...

...before taking this excellent photo:

Clare hung back - the princesses made her a little shy.

Meanwhile, Sean chatted with Snow White - he asked her why she was holding onto that old, poisoned apple.  Afterwards, he got in a photo with the sisters from "Frozen."  But Clare was still feeling shy - even about her favorite princess, Princess Anna!

But Clare agreed to get her photo taken with Anna and Elsa as long as she could sit on my lap: