Sophie's Summer Activities

Hello devoted blog readers,

My husband recently complained that my blog is too much like a Flikr account, i.e. it's just a collection of pictures without any "deep thoughts." That point is well taken, but I have to catch all of you up on semi-recent happenings first and then I will spend more time pontificating. Since I'm not in school this summer, I have had a lot more time to spend with Sophie and we have been able to attend all the activities we had to miss during the school year. Here are some of the things we have been doing:

Strawberry Picking at a farm with our church playgroup

Spending a Saturday afternoon on the Boston Common, riding the Swan Boats

In case Sophie's face didn't give it away, she did not like the Swan Boats. That's mostly because she doesn't like sitting still, something that is obviously necessary while on a boat.

Playing in the water with the playgroup

Sophie had kind of a hard time with the fountains. As long as the water didn't shoot too high she was fine, but whenever it did she got trapped in the middle and ran out crying with her hands up.

The park had an awesome teeter-totter!

Let me know if you agree with Loren's opinion and if I need more thoughts to balance out all the pictures.

Castle Island

We took an afternoon trip to Castle Island and Fort Independence in June. It's great to live so close to the ocean and it was my first time going to a beach in Massachusetts. I guess I forgot where we were because I was fully anticipating getting in the water and playing in the waves. Wrong! The beach was kind of rocky and the water, of course, was freezing! Sophie was deterred at first, but gradually warmed up to splashing around and ended up having a great time. After our fun in the sun was over, we went to a family-run hamburger joint there and had a yummy, unhealthy dinner. It was a good outing!

Us with the fort in the background. We couldn't go in because they only give tours on Saturdays. John Adams christened it Fort Independence, changing the name from Castle William. This was where colonial governors came to hide out when condition in Boston were thought to be unfavorable or dangerous.

Sophie loved looking at the water. She would have tried to jump in if we had let her.

Logan Airport, practically in the ocean

After a while she got sand on herself, so I filled one of the cups up with water and washed her off. She then repeated that over and over, splashing cold water (and more sand) on herself :)

Wellesley Reunion

The first weekend in June I was a student worker for Wellesley's reunion weekend. I didn't get paid very much and it was really hot all weekend, but the annual alumnae parade on Sunday morning made up for it. Classes have a reunion every five years, so this year's group was all the classes ending in a 0 or 5. The oldest graduates were from the class of 1935! It was really inspiring to see the legacy and sisterhood of Wellesley on display and to feel a connection to all of these accomplished women. Pretty soon that will be me in the parade!

Sherilyn's Day and Memorial Day

Loren is at a bachelor party tonight so I have no excuse to keep me from chipping away at bringing the blog up to date. The weekend after I finished my exams we took a trip to Denver to celebrate Sherilyn's (Loren's little sister) high school graduation. We also helped Sherilyn and Marianne (Loren's mom) get packed and ready to move to West Virginia. I know Loren was sad because it was our last trip to Colorado for a long time and that will always be his home, but it was great to see Sherilyn graduate and we were happy we could help with the move.

Sophie made it through the graduation ceremony with the help of her cousins, who fed her bits of graham cracker, but she conked out right after it was over.

Part of the McGinnis (and Nelson) family

Us with the proud graduate

Cut to Memorial Day. We had a relaxing family day, took Sophie to a cool park and went on a walk to the beautiful Mount Auburn cemetery. We finished the day with hot dogs, yum!

The Mary Baker Eddy Memorial

Life is full of surprises

Two amazing things happened yesterday:

1. Sophie let me rock her to sleep for a nap. That has not happened in months because we have trained her to fall asleep on her own in the crib, plus she is usually way too fidgety to sit still on anyone's lap. I felt very proud and happy that she let me cuddle her and put her to sleep. This is a more typical view of Sophie:

2. I ironed the big pile of wrinkly clothes that was in our closet. I rarely, bordering on never, iron. That's mostly because I'm too lazy, not because I enjoy wearing wrinkled clothes. Loren was very impressed.

Oh and also I lost my voice. Right now I am reduced to whispering and Loren keeps telling me not to talk at all (because he hates the way I sound). Now would be a bad time to call me on the phone. This is also surprising because I don't think I have ever lost my voice like this.

Missed May

I started off the year by doing so well on blog posts, but that streak was snapped in May. It could have had something to do with my end of the semester exhaustion and the stress of two students in the same apartment both dealing with finals and a busy toddler... but also I've just been a little lazy. To make up for it, I offer a collection of pictures from both April and May to sketch a faint outline of what the McGinnis family has been up to.

Marathon Monday at Wellesley - it's tradition for all the students to cheer on the runners of the Boston Marathon

The sign says, "Kissing since 1897" because all the students offer kisses to the runners. Sophie had a sign that said, "Kiss me I'm getting a tooth." Sadly, it was ineffective.

"Quiet as a clam" - Sophie at 16 months

I took at canoeing class to fulfill a PE credit. It was so fun!

My partner Caroline

Looking at the Wellesley campus from the other side of the lake

Happy 21st Birthday Loren!

I made him apple pie

Happy Mother's Day! Loren got me Gilmore Girls Season 2

Coming up: our trip to Denver and Memorial Day activities

Maple Sugaring

This month, or possibly at the end of March, some friends from church invited us to go to a maple sugaring farm in New Hampshire. As the spring temperatures warm up the sap starts to run. We ate a humongous breakfast at the restaurant first and then went on a short tour of the maple sugaring barn. We actually couldn't hear very much of the tour, but the food and company were good, so I think the trip was well worth it. It's always nice to get out sometimes.

Sophie with her twin Caitlin Yamamoto and her sister Megan on the swing. Grumpy old...kids!

Loren's pose is very manly, look at how his shoulders are thrown back

We are trying to teach Sophie how to use utensils. It's a messy business.

Sleeping like a baby. This was the first time we saw her do this, but then after this it's happened two or three more times. We just laugh and then move all her limbs back into the crib.