Picnics and Puppet Shows

Today was my second full day with Sunny and Olaf. Sunny had her second-to-last day at preschool this morning, so Olaf and I enjoyed a fun morning together before picking her up. While we missed Sunny's exuberant addition to our adventures, Olaf and I enjoyed a quieter morning full of board games!

To start the morning off, we played Ticket To Ride, one of many games I have been introduced to by Olaf. Although I had heard from many friends that it was a fun game (by many a favorite, too!) I had never had the chance to play it myself. I can attest, however, that it is quite fun and has definitely made it high on my list of board games I actually enjoy. After a little break to type up his letter to his pen pal (in Spain!!), we started a rousing game of Monopoly. What a whirlwind of a game it was, too!! We both almost went bankrupt a few times, but in the end, Olaf had Pacific, North Carolina, AND Pensylvania Avenues, plus a hotel on each one. And, of course, three turns in a row, I landed on one and had to cough up $1,400 each time..... sigh.... (Yes, buying Park Place was worth the first mortgage.)

Unfortunately, it's been a very stormy week, so when the sun peeked out around lunchtime, we just had to get outside for a bit!! So, we packed ourselves a little picnic lunch and took a little walk/bike ride down to a local park for a quick picnic lunch before picking up Sunny.

It was lovely to sit outside in the sun, making little bell pepper and cheese and meat roll-ups on the spot, and chatting about our plans for the summer. It was a very quick picnic this time (it's so hard to pull away from such a riveting game of Monopoly!!), but it is only the first of many.

I'm enjoying getting to know the city now that I'm driving around it, so it was fun to pick Sunny up today. As soon as she saw me walking over to pick her up, her adorable smile showed up and she waved her arm high. I asked if I needed to show my ID and the teachers said "Well, I think you've already been identified quite clearly, but just to be sure. *wink* We've heard so much about you and we've been expecting you!" Sunny gave me a great big hug, which combined with her big smile, melted me more than that walk in the hot sun.

On Sunday, Sunny crawled up on my bed with me and combed my hair :) 

Before our afternoon rest time, Petunia was requested, but, seeing how we've read it so many times (about three times a day, more if I let her!), we decided on The Velveteen Rabbit instead. We haven't finished it yet, but I expect to shed a few tears tomorrow. I must admit, as much as I absolutely love playing with little friends, I always appreciate a few hours of rest time. Those little bodies have so much energy bursting inside of them, I just can't understand how they do it! But, perhaps, we have the same amount of energy; we've probably just learned to slowly release it and make it last a whole day.

Buy it here!

After rest time, Olaf and I played a couple more rounds of our game of Monopoly (we played it in little spurts throughout the day!) and then we practiced some handwriting: Olaf practicing cursive through copywork, Sunny practicing tracing her letters. Hopefully, by doing a little bit every day, we'll see steady improvement. :)

After Mom and Dad had come home and we were beginning to get ready for supper, Sunny gave a little puppet show with her butterfly, dogs, penguin, puffin, seahorse, and dolphin. It was a delightful tale of the butterfly, dogs, and puffin bringing a baby penguin back home to the North Pole. 5 stars, award-winning, what a crowd pleaser! ;)

As always, after supper, we read a few stories (I finally gave in and we read Petunia, silly voices and all!), plus a few games of Stick (a hand, counting game!). Then, it was time for everyone to begin winding down, finishing chores, and getting ready for bed. A full day, but a wonderful day.