Sunday, June 24, 2018

Assorted

Madison and Clark got this play tent for Christmas, and they like to use it during the day.  They were looking forward all spring to when the weather would be warm enough to go camping.  We finally set a date, but cancelled our reservation at the park because the forecast included a lot of rain.  The kids were so disappointed that Lauren told them they could camp in their room with their play tent.  We set it up between their two beds in their room, and they each used one of the sleeping bags that I got for Christmas.



Madison likes to dress Clark up in girl clothes.  It's not my favorite thing, but it's difficult to stop.







We drove to a farm across the border in Pennsylvania--about an hour drive, maybe a touch more.  We took a tractor ride out to the strawberry fields and went to town.






The temple in Philadelphia is downtown, with public parks, a library, the Franklin institute, Philly's science center, etc. nearby.  While I was in the temple, Lauren took the kids to the library.  On the way, Madison saw this giant chess set.  When Lauren and I switched, Madison kept asking to go to the park to play chess.  So, we went.


When we got there, this man (Kevin--very friendly guy) had just set up the pieces to play a game against himself.  Madison pushed me to ask him if she could play one of the sides.  He was happy to play against her.  She played the game herself.  Meaning, she would go to the piece she wanted to move and ask if such and such move was legal.  If it wasn't, I would tell her what moves were legal with her chosen piece.  She actually played okay.


After Lauren was out of the temple she came over to where we were.  Kevin heard that we had to leave soon and he told Madison that he was sure he was going to lose soon and so he decided to forfeit the rest of the game, making her the winner.  She was thrilled.  She loves chess, math, reading, and soccer.


Dairy Farm & Ice Cream

We drove about an hour away from our house to see a dairy farm.  We got ice cream that had just been made, watched the cows getting milked, and fed a bottle of milk to a calf.  The kids loved it, but Madison's favorite part may have been chasing a chicken and her chicks around the field.






Preakness


We went to Pimlico, the horse racing track where the Preakness is held every year.  During the week of the race you can go in the early morning and see the horses training and tour the track.  Lauren started feeling unwell, however, and we left early.  On our way out everyone grabbed a free doughnut and juice.



 When we got home, Madison decided to turn Elsa into a jockey.  If you look closely you'll see that she took some twine and created stirrups and used a hair scrunchie to create reins for the unicorn.