We are still adjusting to the change of time zones! Elizabeth got up at 8:30 local time (5:30 Portland time), but at 11:00pm local time was still allegedly not ready for bed.
In any event, Day Two was a good one. After a leisurely morning, we made the semi-short walk to the beach. McKenna was the first one to take the plunge into the cold waters of the lake, followed shortly by your humble scribe. It was glorious. The view from the beach is fantastic (better, if you aren't wearing your glasses and thus can't see certain elements of infrastructure, such as power lines). The lake was comfortable, after the initial shock. The beach was sandy and clean, and we had lots of sand toys brought down from the house.
After beach, Barb and I took the girls out on a canoe trip that was cut short by dual-girl crankiness. So we went back to shore, hiked up to the house, and had a snack. While Barb took Suzanne for a nap-inducing stroller ride, I read a neat book to Elizabeth; we both learned some things about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
In the evening, Elizabeth discovered a great game called The Honey-Bee Tree, that we played with McKenna, Connor, and Travis in turn. It was fun. We had grilled steak and corn for dinner, and then a campfire out on the lawn (with obligatory s'mores).
Tonight was the so-called Super Moon -- apparently, Luna is 10,000 miles closer to Earth than usual, or some such. We saw the moon, and it looked full, but not Super. I was more impressed by the lightning bugs ubiquitous on the landscape, or the day's constant rumble of thunder.
Both of the girls were difficult to put to sleep, and by the time they were down, and Barb and I were free, all of the adults save Joshua were in Dreamland with Elizabeth and Suzanne.
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| Aunt Mary's portrait of Elizabeth on an Etch-a-Sketch. As if we needed proof, Mary is truly an artist. |
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| Elizabeth led Daddy into the woods to build a fairy house. It was cool in the woods, and beautiful, but buggy. |
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| Later in the day, the girls returned to the woods to continue work on the fairy mansion. |
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| On the way out of the woods, I ran across a turtle digging a nesting hole in the gravel right behind Travis's brand new car. The girls were so interested (see above) they scared the poor pregnant (?) mother off. She relocated a few yards away, lay her eggs, buried them, and trundled off into the woods. McKenna found some tiny fencing to put around the nest and finger-painted a sign warning humans away from the area. |
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| The first campfire of the week! |
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| Elizabeth and McKenna around the campfire. |
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| Suzanne roasting a marshmallow. |
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