Kingdom and Castle

Fantastic Fall Folly....

Fall has finally arrived, although we continue to play as if we're still in the middle of summer. Well, sort of. The kids are enjoying their costume/dress up area 3-4 times a week, and they have upwards of 25 costumes to pick from for this year's trek on Halloween. Let's hope the snow holds off! Before October 31st however, we have much to do--and yet--can share that we've also done even more....

We all enjoyed another in-person visit with Rachel Coleman of Signing Time, who spent some extra special time with her very own Signing Time superstar, Abby Agudelo! Rachel has some new projects forthcoming debuting on TV, so stay tuned! :)

The boys started asking for gingerbread in early September. So, we made a few batches and started creating our own Fall style gingerbread creatures and even made some karate sugar cookies to snack on after karate class. Everyone seems to enjoy cooking/baking with Mom, so hopefully, they'll all learn how to cook for themselves. Abby often claims that she wishes to be a chef like Mom. All we can say is, "Go for it!"

Tony's Aunt Marcela, a superstar actress from Bogota, Colombia, graced us with her presence for a little over a week. We tried to keep her busy--touring Boston, Salem, and the Maine coastline, but one of her favorite things to do was Bikram yoga and drinking beer in downtown Boston while people watching. :) It was a lovely visit with Marcela, who brought with her many gifts and goodies. Too bad our little ones weren't on their best behavior for her. We're not sure she'll ever return...

We all take a break after walking Marginal Way along the seacoast of Maine. Fortunately for us, lunch was enjoyed at a Top Chef Masters restaurant right on the waterfront! Worth every mile! :)

The coastline is magestic and magical. Check out the stacked rocks. We're definitely in Maine. :)

Bye Bye Maine...See you again, soon.

Nothing screams Fall more quickly than homemade caramel corn (complete with candy corn, that is). We created our very own concoction and prepared some recently for the LAST DRIVE-IN of the season (Nemo/The Avengers). This time of year is always bittersweet. While we love Fall, saying good bye to the beach, Martha's Vineyard, and summertime fun in the heat can be a little daunting. But, with ever season, change occurs that reawakens our passion for New England. Fall is especially one of those times of year. And with that, we bid summer adieu, and welcome the harvest season.

Life is about LEARNING....

To keep the minds and intellect ofour little ones engaged during the warmer summer months, we opted for the 3rd year in a row, to homeschool our little ones. We focused on 1st grade curriculum, math, science, comprehension and reading, and of course, added some fun field trips and adventures along the way. One of our kids' favorite activities is: store. We're not sure if it our kids' love of 'stuff', love of money, or the art of mathematics, but whatever the reason, we play store often so they can learn more about money, addition, subtraction and of course, budgeting.

The kids loved visiting the Ocean Explorium this summer. At this combination 'touch tank' and educational museum, the kids learned even more about life cycles of the sea. They enjoyed hands on hours with sharks, sting rays, scallops, star fish, snails, sea cucumbers, and so much more. The beauty of this location is hard to explain as the colors alone are at their most brilliant beneath the tank lights and within the sea water.

Aramis holds a star fish...one of the many things that held his interest...

The Ocean Explorium wasn't our only stop this summer. Thanks to an impromtu visit from our North Carolina-based pals, the Dippolds, we set off to explore the McCauliffe Planetarium, which was a HUGE hit with our kids--so much so that King Tony transformed the boys' room into an outer space room complete with glow-in-the-dark sheets, hanging planets, telescope, 3D space shuttle and of course, a wall-mounted television. Sweet!

We took this photo specifically for Uncle Erick, who LOVES Star Trek. Actual costumes/accessories from one of the Star Trek movies.

Aramis loves planets and all things outer space. Maybe he'll design something for use in outer space one day?

Our friend Anya spent some time teaching us the ropes about planets...She's so smart!! :)

The Dippold/Agudelo crew. A little antsy and not that interested in photo opps...

Alec has recently gotten more excited about legos...and not big easy to use legos, mind you, but the tiniest of legos ever made. The good news is that he's unbelievably creative. The bad news is that pieces are super-duper tiny! This is one of his unique designs--a two-man, double-light-sabre fighter ship. No directions, just pure imagination. He's a really cool kid.... :)

To introduce the science concept of liquid to solid, we brought some fun into our home classroom by making ice cream. The kids created an ice cream base (cream, sugar, milk, vanilla) that was liquid, and watched as the liquid turned into a solid. This batch: Cotton Candy...Aramis' favorite. We're pretty sure the lesson was delivered, and received. :)

The final result...soft/solid cotton candy ice cream! :)

We also leveraged some fun at-home experiments using ice/water/salt as well as taught our children all about static electricity. Overall, we're pretty sure that lessons taught this summer will stick with them for many years to come, and hopefully, inspire them to love science even more. So far, so good!

Aramis has the greatest passion for science. Just like his Auntie Beth and Uncle Erick, medicine may be his future. He's now doing surgery on the human body, and explaining to his parents, exactly how bones, skin and muscles hold the body together, the function of the liver, and can tell you exactly where the intestines, kidneys and heart are within your body. Pretty impressive for a preschooler...right? :)

To keep the fun flowing, we built in a few rainy-day activities, and created our very own Rainbow Rice Table. It was surprisingly easy (and inexpensive) to create, and has given our children hours of fun and conversation. Clean up, however, is a little more daunting--especially when the kids decide that throwing the rice at one another is more enjoyable than playing in it. Hmmmp....

Tired Legs...and Lengthy Trails

This summer marked a huge milestone in the lives of our children. Strollers were sent to consignment or handed down to friends, and all three of the royal kidlets had their metal tested as they started doing 1-5 mile hikes 3-4 times a week. Yeah, yeah, that 'sounds' semi-harsh, but in reality, it is not. The kids LOVE hiking--especially when we added a little scavenger hunt or where's waldo element to the excerise routine. You know, hiking is the BEST way to prepare for Disney World--and with a potential trip looming on the Fall calendar this year--we HAD to start training.

And so it was, a summer filled with hikes to more than a dozen new hiking trails--all of which the kids mastered. There were some seriously steep inclines, and decends, but overall, the scenic beauty persevered throughout and the kids are now seasoned hikers as well as being in the best physical shape. That is, until the snow and holidays arrive. :)