Vermont 2018: Day 1

August is flying by -- we celebrated Will's 12th birthday yesterday and he starts back at school on Tuesday...  but before we can get to any of that, I need to recap our trip to Vermont!

Gene stayed home to work and take care of our furry and scaly critters while the boys and I ventured off to Vermont to see my sister and her family. We arrived on August 8 but were exhausted after an early-morning flight and didn't do anything our first day except swim in the hotel pool and get Ben & Jerry's from a nearby grocery store.

On our first full day in Vermont, we headed to Barre to the Rock of Ages granite quarry.

We got there a bit before the visitor's center opened and had some time to explore the grounds, which were lovely.  

This rider box took workers in and out of the quarry.

Next, we found the bowling lane! In the 1950s, Rock of Ages experimented with granite bowling lanes. They are sturdy and hold up well, but bowling balls could crack and break and the idea never took off.  The balls we used on this prototype were rubber and it was quite fun!

Strike!

The grand adventure was a tour to see the quarry. The gorgeous blue water is caused by algae and granite dust mixing together.  

Henry, aka Atlas 

The tour was fascinating, especially since our tour guide was a former quarry worker! After the tour, we visited the factory, where workers make monuments and memorials.  It was a really different place to visit!

After our tour, we found a great restaurant, Ladder 1 Grill, in an old firehouse

before a quick visit through Hope Cemetery, which was full of works by the artists who work for Rock of Ages. It was an incredibly beautiful cemetery.  

Our final stop of the day was Morse Farm, north of Montpelier. Here, we learned all about how maple syrup is made and explored the grounds, which are peppered with wooden sculptures carved by Burr Morse. 

We found a maple maze

and took a walk down the maple trail. The plastic tubing and other contraptions show how maple trees are tapped today.  

It was an incredibly short trail, but Will wasn't sure he could make it and collapsed on the ground.   

End of the trail!

Inside the gift shop, we bought a couple of jugs of maple syrup to have shipped home and enjoyed maple creemees. 

We had a wonderful day exploring, and after some down time in our hotel, we went over to Amber's house for dinner. 

Hammock time -- living his best life!

The post-dinner entertainment was water balloons, which Tom painstakingly helped fill and tie.   

 

Cousin time = the best time!

More Vermont adventures to come.

Summer Break: Weeks Eight and Nine

Have I mentioned that this summer has been a really good one so far? The boys are much more mature this summer and have done an excellent job of entertaining themselves. I often felt like the cruise director during previous summers -- planning museum outings and library trips and pool visits. This summer, we've still done all those things, but we've had many more lazy days at home as well. It's been really good. The boys are enjoying their down time while still letting me get my school work done.

Speaking of school work, I had to do a big final project with my partner on makerspaces. The boys were my guinea pigs for my makerspace idea! They had to come up with a way to move a car along a path without using their hands. 

Planning their path

Trying out ideas

Their solution was to use the magnet under the cardboard to move the car along the path.  

Last week, the kids were both in an ID Tech camp. They LOVED it! Will did a Python coding/Minecraft mods class. This is the certificate ceremony that they do at the end of each week. 

It's hard to see, but he created a birthday cake in honor of my birthday!

Henry took a game design class and made a Mario-like game. 

Awards ceremony 

We also celebrated my birthday with dinner out at our favorite Indian restaurant, Maharajah Bhog. 

After dinner, we stopped back home to grab Ruby because Brazos Bookstore was having a "bring your dog to the bookstore" night. You can't tell from these photos, but there were dogs everywhere! It was so much fun for all of us and I love that it fell on my birthday!

We were too stuffed for dessert, so we celebrated the next night with a dessert pizza. Ruby always wants to join in the fun!

The kids weren't in camp this week, and we had the laziest week, spent mostly at home. One morning, Henry didn't even get out of his jammies until well past lunchtime. Now that's summer for you!

We did get out to Barnes and Noble to get Will an algebra book. He's taking algebra this year and wanted to do some practice.  

We had lunch out after helping at my mentor's library on Tuesday

and played with friends at our house on Wednesday. On Thursday, the kids and I went downtown for a mini art tour. It was a mild morning (for August) as a "cold" front had come through town.

We read an article in the paper about Lego sculptures at Allen Center, and that was just too cool to pass up.

These are Park People by artist Nathan Sawaya.

There are six sculptures and they are really awesome!

Next up, we walked two blocks to The Heritage Society, where a new Mexican-American mural is being painted. We even had an opportunity to chat with the artists about their work!

Also in Sam Houston Park is Open House by Havel Ruck Projects. This temporary art project uses an abandoned house that was moved to the park and is covered inside with historic photos. The circular holes throughout are supposed to invoke a sense of looking at the present through the lens of the past. 

As we walked through the park, I couldn't resist putting on my tour guide hat and giving the boys a brief history of the houses as we passed by. I didn't work there very long, but The Heritage Society will always have a special place in my heart! 

We ended our art tour outside the downtown library in front of this sculpture by Claes Oldenburg  called Geometric Mouse X.

Two more weeks of summer break for Will and three more for Henry!