Sand and Sun

"In summer, the song sings itself." ~ William Carlos Williams

Evening at the Shore

Places to Go

It's rare that a day passes without me finding a new and interesting place to take the kids in Manchester-Nashua-Lowell area. Here are a few places I'd like to check out (or visit again):

• Seacoast Science Center, Rye
  
• Massabesic Audubon Center, Auburn
• Currier Museum of Art, Manchester
  
• Salisbury Beach
• Stone Zoo, Stoneham
  
• Rye Harbor State Park, Rye
  
• Two Bridge Park, Merrimack
• White Park, Concord (New Hampshire)
  
• Beaver Brook, Hollis
• Silver Lake State Park, Hollis
• New Hampshire Farm Museum, Milton
  
• Butterfly Place, Westford
• Fort Stark, New Castle
  
• Children's Museum of New Hampshire, Dover
• Bear Brook State Park, Allenstown
• Charmingfare Farm, Candia
  
• Parlee Farms, Tyngsborough
• Mine Falls Park, Nashua
• Lowell National Historical Park
  
• McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, Concord (New Hampshire)
• Pawtuckaway State Park, Nottingham
  
• Horse Hill Nature Preserve, Merrimack
• Apple Hill Farm, Concord (New Hampshire)
• Willard Brook State Forest, Townsend
• Great Brook Farm, Carlisle
• Fruitlands Museum, Harvard

There are dozens more places that I'll add to my list as the little ones get older. Our area of New England is rich in history and I am looking forward to when they are old enough to appreciate it.

P is for...

Our Summer Alphabet

A - adventures
B - bicycle bells
C - cucumbers
D - daydreaming
E - eating fresh veggies
F - freckles
G - gardening
H - humidity
I - ice cream (homemade!)
J - July Fourth fireworks
K - keeping the garden as organic as possible
L - lightning bugs
M - morning glories
N - night owls
O - orange daylilies
P - peeping frogs
Q - quilting
R - rain, rain go away!
S - strawberries
T - turkeys and chicks in our yard
U - umbrellas and rainboots
V - vacation in Maine
W - water fun in the sprinkler
X - extra long days
Y - yard work
Z - zinnias

On the Road Again Music Mix

With a little help from all of my children, I put together this mix CD for an upcoming road trip:

• Barracuda -- Heart
• Give It Away -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Crocodile Rock -- Elton John
• Meet Virginia -- Train
• Cherry Bomb -- John Cougar Mellencamp
• Air Stream Driver -- Gomez
• No Phone -- CAKE
• New York City -- Peter Malick featuring Norah Jones
• No Rain -- Blind Melon
• Shiny Happy People -- R.E.M.
• Should I Stay or Should I Go -- The Clash
• Crazy ABCs -- Barenaked Ladies
• Personal Jesus -- Depeche Mode
• Ants Marching -- Dave Matthews Band
• All of My Love -- Led Zeppelin
  
• Centerfold -- J. Geils Band

There are a few titles here that aren't completely age appropriate, but thankfully my little ones aren't old enough to figure out the meaning of all the lyrics. The innuendo is lost on them! I love how they choose music based on the rhythm and whether or not they can groove to it.

Hey There, Wildflower

After many, many days of rain, my garden has been taken over by weeds. I'm hoping to take advantage of the drier weather to whip it in to shape. And while I weed, the kids will be shaking their sillies out in the sunshine. May all your weeds be wildflowers!