New England Aquarium

Nathan had his first piano lesson today. Rachel and I are swapping lessons so that Jared can learn violin and Nathan can learn piano. They both did a good job today with their first lesson. Jared was shy, but I think he'll come around. He's a quick learner.

Last Monday, Nathan, Emily, Hilda and I went down to Boston to go to the New England Aquarium. It was a really fun day. We drove down to Kittery, and then Hilda drove us the rest of the way. After we parked the car, we walked to the aquarium, and we stopped on the way at a little restaurant. It had little tables outdoors, where we sat. I tried something new, lobster quesadillas. I love lobster, but it doesn't really go with mexican food and spices. It was still good, but I prefer lobster with butter or in a lobster roll. After lunch, we went to the aquarium. There was a long line, and we had to wait for about 25-40 minutes just to get our tickets. We had fun looking around. The only problem was that it was really crowded. I was surprised that it would be so busy on a Monday, but it sure was. Nathan's favorite exhibit was the penguin exhibit. He absolutely loved it. His favorite part was seeing them poop in the water. Gross, I know, but he thought it was hilarious. My favorite part was the penguins, mostly because I got such a kick out of Nathan's amusement. I also loved the big tank with the sharks and the big sea turtle. We went to an IMAX theatre show, too. We saw Sharks, which was so awesome! The 3D effects were so real that I felt I could touch the jellyfish floating toward me. Everyone loved it. It was so nice to spend the day with Nathan and Hilda and Emmy, just doing something fun. The only regret I have is that I wish I had called Olivia and Felicia to see if they wanted to go, too. I feel really bad that I didn't call them in time.

Last Wednesday, Nathan and I went over to Shelli's for the afternoon. Kristen and Scott came over with the girls, too. It was fun to just visit with them, play games, and hold Paige. She's such a cutie. We played Acquire, which JJ and Allyson love, and Scattergories and Imaginiff. It was a really fun afternoon. I love those kind of days, when you can just drop everything and have fun.

I'm starting to prepare myself for going back to school. I'm actually looking forward to it in a way. I've been doing some reading this summer for school, and I got some new math workbooks for my students that I'm excited to try. I love shopping for school supplies, and we've bought Nathan's supplies that were on his list for second grade. Now we just need to buy his clothes, which I have to wait for Friday (payday) for. I also have to wait for Friday to buy more gas for the van, so I have to stay close to home with week. Dan lent me 20 dollars the other day for gas,and I have to make it last until Friday.

I've had Nathan doing math and reading all summer. Most days, he's not happy about it, but that is one thing I'm firm about. I always knew I'd never be one of those moms who lets their kids just waste away the summer without doing anything academic. He participated in the Norway Library summer reading program. He had to read or listen to books for at least 20 hours, which he did. We actually went over, but I don't know by how much. He does love to be read to. That's my favorite thing to do with him, read and enjoy book and after book.