Legoland Adventures

 A couple of weeks ago, we headed down to Legoland to see what that place is all about.

Turns out, it's about all things Lego.  Grace posed for a photo with Wyldstyle.

 Then she hung out with a sculpture of one of her spiritual mentors.

 There were a lot of Star Wars Legos, obvs.

 Grace was thrilled to don some Lego armor.

I spent quite a bit of time building Lego ships to send down the river, racing other kids' creations.

 I made a couple of last-minute adjustments.

 I set my craft in place.

Then it was time to set it free.  I pushed the lever, and my ship set sail, where it promptly rolled over and got pummeled in the rapids.  Ship-building is harder than it looks.

Back to School

After what seemed like just a few days, summer break was over, and it was time to head back to school to learn more stuff.  I am in my senior year of preschool.  (They call us "dolphins.")

 And Grace is a first grader, which is ridiculous, if you ask me!

Summer Wrap-Up: More Nantucket

    

If Grace has a signature pose, this is it.  Anyway, we were on Nantucket for a couple of weeks, so we spent a lot of time at the beach.

One day, we drove out to Sconset for lunch and ice cream and took in the view of the Atlantic from this pedestrian bridge.

 Then we walked down to the beach for a closer look.

 We discovered an excellent kids' park around the corner.  I relaxed for a while in this big net.

 And Grace practiced her tight-rope walk.

 Another day, we entered the sandcastle contest with our cousins Haley and Julia.  Grace decided we should build a lion; we usually do what Grace tells us to do.  

In our quest to experience as many playgrounds as possible, we headed out to the one at Bartlett's Farm. 

The farm's playground isn't as interesting as the one by the beach in Sconset, but it's pretty good for killing some time while your parents shop for fresh produce.

Before we left the island, we took one last dip in the water at Mr. Rogers's Beach, where I feel most comfortable in the water.

And, of course, we spent some time with Grampy at one of his favorite hangouts, the Wharf Rat Club.

Summer Wrap-Up: Nantucket

 After a brief return home, we escaped to Nantucket for our annual visit.  As you can see, Grace doesn't really get excited about the trip.

 I kept watch over our beach stuff, while Grace hit the waves.

 She's pretty comfortable in the water. 

 But occasionally she can use some parental assistance. 

 Because I don't really float, I mostly lounged around in the sand.

 One morning, I cleaned myself up by running through the human carwash at the St. Paul's Church fair.  I think I was just about the only person gutsy enough to try it that day.

Summer Wrap-Up: Alaska

 It's been a long summer without interwebs, so now that we're back online I'm going to get you up to speed in some quick installments, so pay attention.  

Summer started with a trip to Alaska to visit Uncle Scott and Aunt Cammy.

 There was no skiing, but there was still some snow at Alyeska, so we pretended to ride up the chairlift.

 At the cabin on Kenai Lake, Grace and I spent quite a bit of time throwing sticks into the water for their dog, Tucker.

Tucker was a good sport about fetching the sticks.

On a day trip to Seward, Grace checked out someone else's fish haul.

And back in Anchorage, Grace took a seat on a snow machine on display at the Museum of Art.

                                               photo courtesy of Aunt Cammy

Grace also had an encounter with a Grizzly Bear at an animal conservation park, but I'm not sure she was aware of it at the time.

History Made!

Primary Day finally arrived here yesterday.  Well done, California!

Team Disney

We had some Disneyland passes burning a hole in our pocket, so we drove down to Anaheim on Saturday for some park action.

We spent the bulk of the day at California Adventure, where Cars Land and A Bug's Land are located.

Grace and I rode in a box of Chinese food, which was kind of random.

Flik had no one waiting in line, so Mom and Grace took time out for a photo.

Of course, Mater had a line of people to see him, but it was definitely worth the wait to meet one of my all-time favorite cast members.

I had to take out the map a time or two.  Does no one else in my family know how to use one of these?!

Grace got in a little climbing action.

 

She and Dad enjoyed themselves on a little train ride.

 And somehow Grace scored some cotton candy while I wasn't looking.  She reluctantly shared with me what was left, though, so I can't complain... too much.