Summer Loving

We are still in the throes of summer, enjoying our 6th... 7th (who's counting?) week in Nantucket. And the beauty is that this will just continue until the weather shifts. No flights back to Oakland and classrooms to set up. This is our first fall without students in over 10 years. It's a bit strange, but of course, lovely. Lots of music being played, time spent at the beach, bikes ridden, and meals eaten outside. Here are lots of images of the summer magic.

We have been doing weekly beach picnics. My godmother, Lisa, joined for this one.

After our meal, the boys explored the shore with nets. On this evening, they caught a large green crab (an invasive one). We tried to decide what responsible method to use for getting rid of it (feeding it to the seagull who had just stolen our fancy cheese, killing it and trying to eat it ourselves, etc.) We ended up letting it go because the boys felt too sensitive about those options.

Grandparents break the rules sometimes. Not just counter crouching, but naked counter crouching!

Going in the boat is an outing that even Sid is learning to enjoy. Zeal gets to drive the boat sometimes. 

Within walking distance is Lily Pond, a fun place to explore. We heard frogs and saw a turtle's head. The boys waited patiently for a resurfacing.

Being in Nantucket sometimes requires a blazer. Chris sports the casual-Daddy-yacht-club look.

We have done a few family entertainment evenings. We saw the Nantucket kids stand up comedy show and a kids' performance of the Wizard of Oz. Both were at the Dreamland Theater in town. During the stand up show, Zeal kept calling out "Is it my turn?" He's possibly our future performer.

And we spend some time just lazing around, drinking milk from baby bottles.

We are members of the local aquarium, which, for all you Northern California and Boston folks, is less like an aquarium and more like a quaint shingled closet and gazebo with local fish. But the docents (mostly volunteer high school kids) are amazing! We have learned so much about dogfish, skate, lobster, flounder, and flying gurnards.

This swing was enjoyed by the Braunohler kids 30 years ago! It's still active in the big Hinckley yard.

We have been out to ice cream at the infamous Juice Bar only once, Avery, the county recorder of special treats, reminds.

Avery played a week of tennis when we first arrived. Next week, he has another week of lessons at the ankle biter tennis clinic.

We have some friends we have seen the past few summers. The good news is that they live here year round and both kids will be in class with Avery and Zeal. Here is the first greeting of the summer.

We have had several special friends visit us this summer, starting with Elvie, Denis, and twins Muirin and Dervla. They live in County Clare, Ireland, so it's always a huge treat to catch up with these musical, funny friends. 

Elvie found Zeal's ticklish spots.

Zeal and Muirin, getting close. 

The girls loved baby Sidney.

Elvie and Denis in the harbor during a morning of boating.

We ride bikes EVERYWHERE! It's been really fun to take Sidney along on the family caravan. One lovely sign of our new lifestyle is that there are thick cobwebs on the outside of our car. It's not hard to say goodbye to highway driving for a year.

Turtle date with Oral and Caleb

Every morning, Zeal and Christine drop Avery off at camp and bike to the duck pond or aquarium. Lucky for us, there is a divine bakery nearby both spots called Wicked Island Bakery. One of our private goals this year is to start using the New England term "wicked" instead of "cool". Here is Zeal feeding the ducks stale bread. He was nervous at first but now stomps his foot with gusto when the ducks get too close.

Another morning hangout spot: the snapping turtle pond. 

"Yikes! There is a swan in the snapping turtle pond!"

More bottle lounging

Mimi hosted a baby shower for a friend, so we used Sidney's footprints to decorate the tablecloth for the shower. He liked the gooey paint on his feet.

One morning the grandparents took the big boys out to breakfast so Chris and I had a morning date with Sidney. It was like being parents to just one kid. And it felt so... easy!

We have already gotten some pretty awesome mail here. This one is from Brooke, our dear friend and artist of our birth announcements. There is no need to make us original art, but please write to us and we will write you back! 30 Crooked Lane, Nantucket MA 02554

Sid is now crawling and super active. He is now 7 months old.

Zeal (who no longer fears sand on his hands and the sting of the salty water)

The Whaling Museum Discovery Room

Our dearest Ilyse, who visited from Oakland! More photos of her visit will be posted soon....

And a visit from the Shuler Kleins from Boston. We plan on seeing a lot of this playful bunch this year now that we are practically neighbors. 

When walking along this jetty, the password was CRABCAKES! The kids all played so well together. 

Avery and Jules loved tubing together.