2 more lbs lost -

and I made Michaela take a picture of me!

(Oh yeah, last week in NH, I lost a half pound! Slowly, slowly...)

Day 2 of the Ice Cream Taste Test

Today we tried an ice cream place called The Ice Cream Smuggler and we thoroughly enjoyed our ice cream sampling, check out this shop on line http://www.icecreamsmuggler.com/! Michaela and Talya are loving this highly scientific experiment!

The Tuesday Beach Club

The first Tuesday that we were on the Cape, Talya, Ayelet and I met Carly, Kelsey and their mom, Lisa. They live here year round and Carly and Kelsey (friends, not sisters) are getting ready to start kindergarten in the fall. The kids hit it off right away and so did Lisa and I! Since then, we have had a standing beach date every Tuesday. Today was no exception!
And then this evening, we began the Great Cape Cod Ice Cream Taste Test. Sundae School look out, we are testing your competition. The contenders are Krista K's (that is where we went tonight), Cape Cod Creamery, The Brewster Scoop, Smugglers and Sundae School. Our hypothesis is that Sundae School will come out on top, we will see. We are judging the ice cream shops on Taste, Flavor and Topping Selection, Service, Aesthetics, Quality of Preparation, Convenience and Cost. Each of us has committed to ordering the same thing at each shop to make sure we are comparing apples to apples. Tomorrow we will try the Cape Cod Creamery!

Back at Cape Cod

After a few more days of travel and visiting, the girls and I are back at the Cape! We had a beautiful day of beach, Sundae School, reading, and an evening bunny hunt. Talya insisted on having her picture taken with one of the bunnies that we saw on our walk. It is hard to see, but the bunny is just to her right. We saw 14 bunnies on our hour long walk this evening!
Hanging out with Nono!


Play time at Derek and Nina's, Ayelet in Elsie's arms.

And other cool snaps...

In case you can't make out the writing, it says "Future star of the Boston Red Sox"!

And then, UNCLE JASON!!!!

A wonderful visit with Uncle Jason, Ariana and cousin Michael.

A Wonderful Day In Boston - Starting With

A visit to Community Boating Inc. where Ron and I met so long ago. Romantic, isn't it?

Kids still sail for $1.00 all summer!

Fun With The Yancey Cousins

Our Day At Dartmouth College

It was so wonderful to visit Dartmouth, it has been several years since we visited. We had lunch at EBA's (Everything But Anchovies) where I used to waitress when I was a student. How wonderful it was to be in a place where "everybody knows your name". The owner of the restaurant recognized me as soon as we walked in the door, it was as though I had just finished my shift yesterday, not more than 15 years ago. She scooped up Ayelet and doted on the big girls. We had a great lunch, then we shopped and walked around campus. So much has changed and so much has stayed the same.

Michaela's Chair

Wow! One of the activities that Michaela signed up for during camp was woodworking (hmmm, wonder where she got that interest from, I don't think it is me...). Her woodworking project was creating this wonderful chair. She is so proud of it!

Camp Ramah - Our Michaela is Back!!

Michaela's Bunk, #12.
Her friends.
Bunk #12's counselors, Hannah and Rachel.

Ready For Shabbat

Happy Girl

Ayelet Turned 4 Months This Week

It is hard to believe that Ayelet is 4 months old. She is such a love, Talya and I have been having a great time watching her grow! Here are some highlights:

• She and I weighed in tonight at Weight Watchers, she is up to 13.4 lbs (and I have lost another 2 lbs)!
• She not only rolls over from front to back, she rolls back and forth in her crib and on her play mat.
• She has a lovey that she holds on to when she sleeps.
• She grabs things that she is interested in and brings them to her mouth.
• She smiles and laughs frequently and with great joy.
• She loves watching me when she is not in my arms and at all other times, she keeps her eyes on her sister.
• She loves the ocean (I dipped her legs in and she loved it).
• She is getting more and more comfortable at the beach.
• With the help of her lovey, she is able to soothe herself to sleep.
• When we are at Sundae School, she lies in my arms and watches the ceiling fans go round and round.
• She is working on sitting up on her own, she is getting stronger and stronger by the day.

Happy Birthday Ayelet!

A Lovely Visit With Cousins Elizabeth and Asher

Practice Makes Perfect - Ayelet and Talya Rolling Over

Cape Cod is Green...and Mom Friendly

Amy, this is for you...

I have always been impressed by how "green" Seattle is - and in Seattle, I try to do my part to protect the environment. I recycle and compost, I use my re-usable grocery bags at the store, we are currently a 1 car family and when I was working, I usually walked or took the bus.


Well, Seattle, Cape Cod is on to this as well! At entrance to the Stop and Shop supermarket in Dennis, there is a kiosk covered in re-usable grocery bags. There is also a staff person stationed there encouraging shoppers to make the switch to the re-usable grocery bags. At the kiosk, there is also something that is clearly designed for Moms shopping with small children - the easy scan.

The easy scan system has made grocery shopping a pleasure for Talya, Ayelet and I since we have been at Cape Cod. We take our reusable grocery bags with us, I get Ayelet set up in the cart and I get Talya set up with the scanner. As we shop, she scans each item and I put it directly into our reusable grocery bags. When we are done, we take our scanner to an easy scan check out stand, scan the end of shopping bar code, and then pay - cash, credit, debit, check. It is so easy and so quick and I get to pack my grocery bags just the way I want to.

Now for the entertaining part - Talya LOVES to scan. Before we discovered the easy scan system, she was quite the grocery store complainer. She wanted to ride in the cart, she didn't want to walk, why does Ayelet get to ride in the cart? can I get this Mom? why not? but I'm HUNGRY, you get the picture. Well, now she has a job to do and a fun one no less. She carries the scanner around and every time I select something (from our list of course), she scans it and I bag it. She doesn't even notice what it is we are buying, she just thinks it is so cool.

Amy, hopefully easy scan will come to Seattle soon, then Naomi can ride in the cart, Talia can scan, and Samuel can read product labels!

Ayelet Has a Lovey

Each of my girls has their own special blanket and their own special lovey. These are the blankets and the loveys that they need when they go to sleep, no matter where they are. How these items are selected is a mystery to me, somehow each of them knows what fits them, it really doesn't matter what I think and with each of them, I have had to try several before finding the right ones. Well, Ayelet has clearly identified her lovey. This lovey was a gift from my Aunt Doris and she loves it. It is soft and when I pull the string it plays a lullaby. When I put her down for her nap or for bed at night, I pull the string, put the lovey on her arm and she almost immediately calms down (most of the time), grabs it and hugs it.