The Last Week (part one)

Little bit of a "double meaning" title there for you. 

In this post, not only will I catch you up on the events and photogenic children of the past week in our lives, I will also wax sentimental about it being the last week of (my) summer vacation.  I am stunned once again, as I am every year, to find myself suddenly days away from returning to the rush and routine of everyday life. 

You guys, it's just that summer is too good. 

SO much travel this year-- all of it so great!-- but here we are with just this little bit of time to enjoy all that our own city has to offer.  

(hint:  its a LOT.)

Compound the "not enough time" feeling with a major storm and micro-burst on Tuesday that left us without power for 2 and a half days, and oppressive heat, humidity and daily rain...  I am greedy for just a few more picture-perfect summer days to soak up everything we haven't done yet. 

There is plenty of joy ahead as we go into the year.  I know this.  But my days will begin in the dark of 5am, packing lunches, instead of at the civilized time of 8am, drinking coffee and lazily petting my mammals in the quiet of the morning sunshine.  And as an inherently lazy person, I am just not really looking forward to this major shift and how stinking tired I am going to be.  

le sigh. 

Here I am, secure in all my privilege.  I know I am so very lucky to be returning to my job.  A job that pays me enough to not just live and eat but travel and buy new school clothes for my kids.  A job that affords me the WHOLE SUMMER OFF to sit around and pet my animals all day, or go places like crazy, depending on my wont. A job where I get to collaborate with brilliant and kind co-workers, doing meaningful work in an air-conditioned space. A job that's challenging and full of variety and really not so bad. 

And so I will get up at 5am on Monday and drag my summer-lovin' self into school and I will do my very best to bring the joy of the vacation right on into the classroom with me.

I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

For now:  The Last Week.  (dun dun duhhhn,....)

Last weekend:  After a day of road trip recovery, we got right on that "enjoy Cleveland!" project.

Beach Day at Edgewater-- sand sculpting contest, beach volleyball tournament, and sitting in the sun on the croweded sand as our children splashed in the pretty impressive waves.  We get spoiled with our time at "lesser known" beaches and the off-season at Edgewater-- it was strange to have the beach and the water so full of all those other people!  Festive, yes, but I think I prefer our usual private beach experience.

After the beach, we headed downtown with our damp children, where we played on snails. 

This is in the adorable reading garden at the Public Library, which is one of my favorite places all the time but even more so with giant, brilliant plastic snails to climb on.

 Also, wolves on balconies.

 I love public art.

 Over to Public Square, to enjoy the new fountain and redesigned green space.  It's fabulous.  Teeming with happy people AND Pokemon stops too!

Plus, we got to participate in a yo-yo party!

Cleveland hosted the International Yo-Yo Competition this year, which is awesome in itself, but then on the closing night there was a gathering in Public Square to attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for "Most People Simultaneously Yo-yoing."  You can see that we HAD to be there.   We watched a fun yo-yo demonstration (which Jack was totally crazy about) and then gathered in our groups of 50 to yo-yo away for two carefully timed and video-taped minutes.  Yes, it was as awesome as it sounds.  The kids were so cute, very very serious about working those yo-yo's.  Jack could not beleive the 2 minutes were over already....

 A sunset walk through the city streets and some time to wander and soak up the evening on the Mall....

 Sunday:  can't get enough of that lake!  After a day spent shopping with my mom and Ivy (thank you tax-free weekend plus coupons!) we met Melinda and Will and the girls at Rocky River beach for a lovely afternoon of swimming and sunning...

... and then a last-minute decision to head to North Coast Harbor for the sunset... and more snails!

Totally the best decision I've made in a while.

 So people were climbing on snails. pushing snails up hill, racing snails downhill, using snails for meerkat-and wolf bowling, arranging meerkats in strange little circles... all while talking and interacting and laughing in the evening sunlight.  It was pretty magical.

Also, to Jack's extreme excitement, the place was crawling with Pokemon stops.  As we wandered around to Voinovich park, we could hear snippets of 3 distinct conversations:  1.  Pokemon players: "Did you catch the...?  I only need...."  2. Pokemon observers: "Can you beleive all the people playing?  Wow, everyone is playing..."  3.  "Check out the plastic animals! And the sunset!"

It felt like all of Cleveland was out to play, enjoying one another's company and the perfect night.
I am a fan of this place. And public art!  And, it turns out, that silly Pokemon game.  Anything to bring people together.

 Monday:  We took advantage of Free Day at the Zoo where the kids enjoyed virtual animals as much as the real thing, and we all melted in the heat and humidity but had fun anyways..

We headed straight from the zoo to the stables, where Jack and Ivy got to try out real riding lessons! We were there for over 2 hours and they loved every minute.  They were confident, cooperative and brave and I was so proud of them.  Pending scheduling in the time and the money for this adventure, we hope to make it a regular thing.

Learning how to tack up.  Their instructor had them do every part of the process, from grooming to tacking to leading their mounts in to the arena.  Very cool. 

The determined, purposeful way this girl led her pony around! 

Ivy on Peanut Buster Parfait ('Buster").  He didn't really want to walk very fast for her, which was probably fine.  She was so proud. 

Jack on Lacey.  He was remarkable and independent anc got her moving at such a nice clip that he accidentally trotted for a minute.  and he didn't even freak out. 

To be continued with "the second half of the last week..." shortly.

 Highlights to come:  Storm!  Power outage! Oppressive heat!  County Fair! A few more waterfalls! Stan Hywet Hall!  Baby cousins!    Tune back in soon....