A Jumble of June, part 2

Ally attended a 2 week camp put on by the Greensboro Police Department, the Rotary, and other local organizations. While at "Safety Town" she learned about street safety, playground safety, fire safety, bike safety, dog safety, and water safety (but not about food safety). She learned that police officers are your friends and that strangers come with dangers. The campers spent time on a fire truck and an ambulance, and got to pedal trikes down the street of a miniature town. Ally also learned about gun safety. (She didn't learn about permits and gun-handling laws, but that children are not permitted to handle guns. No NRA cards were given out.)

On playground day, Ally conquered a fear and realized she could safely slide down the fireman pole. Then she tripped on the ground. This picture of Ally babying her wrist while sitting next to one of her counselors was featured in the graduation slide show.

While Ally learned and played at camp, Cora and I hung out. We took advantage of our rare 1-on-1 time by running errands and scoping out potential neighborhoods for our upcoming move. We got some ice cream at McDonald's, tracked down some quinoa, enjoyed a playground, and visited the Science Center. Cora also had a few play dates with one of her little friends.

We attended Safety Town graduation on the last Friday of camp and, after eating a potluck lunch of chips and cookies, we headed over to the Science Center to celebrate this important step in Ally's life.

It was way too hot outside (over 100 degrees), but the girls managed to find a big frog with whom to take a pic before retreating to the air- conditioning inside.



Ally and Cora signed up for the summer reading "program" at the library. Basically, you set whatever goal you feel like (1 book or 1000 books for the summer; 1 minute or 1000 minutes a day) and come in twice during the summer to place your name in a lottery for a grand prize. You don't need to write the goal down anywhere, there's no motivation to stretch yourself, and there's no accountability. Since my children are book addicts, the fun of being in a summer reading program is thrill enough. That, and they each got to make a dream star that is now hanging in the library.

Ally has high aspirations of achieving the hardest profession and Cora dreams of drawing circles for the rest of her life.


We've been frequenting the farmer's market. One of the blueberry vendors has a pick-your-own option if you drive the additional 3 miles down the road to their property. Ally, Cora, and I took advantage of the opportunity one Saturday.

You pick berries and place them in the bucket, then they weigh your bucket to find out how much you owe. Ally was an expert picker; Cora was an expert eater. I had warned the owner that we should probably weigh Cora before and after for a more accurate accounting, but he laughed and said his top priority is that they enjoy the experience. When we went back in July with my parents, he recognized the girls and told Cora again that she could snack without inhibition. She happily hid under the bushes and shoveled berries into her mouth while Ally, Grandpa, and I worked to fill our buckets.

Thank you, Blueberry Hill!

Ally thinks she's so hilarious!

Chris had a conference to attend in Minneapolis, MN. He came home with presents for his girls-- large pens with floating sparkles. We are glad that the TSA decided they were not a threat to national air-traffic security and let him bring them on the plane.

And that, my friends, was our June.