My Birthday 2019

Near our house is Putnam park, where there was a large encampment of American soldiers during one winter of the revolutionary war. The rocks in the photos with Bluet are the remains of the chimneys of these tiny huts that slept 12 soldiers each. Anyway, it has a museum that has been closed since Labour Day last year, and opened again on Memorial Day, which was my Birthday. As the school was closed because of Memorial Day, we took the kids, and Emily's friend and her mother who were visiting to check it out. 

On the way home from dinner we stopped for ice cream at a roadside ice cream shop. For some reason Bluet needed to lie down right next to the road while we waited

All the kids at the park

We went to a restaurant for a birthday dinner (I had the impossible burger 2.0), but while we were waiting for the food Wilder was pretty bored, so I took him back out to our car where he could do some driving. This kept him entertained.

Visitors from Switzerland

At the end of April we had visitors from Switzerland, our old neighbours who became our new neighbours for 2 weeks, staying in the apartment attached to our house. This meant that the girls were very excited every day when they came home to school as there were kids to play with at home. On the Saturday in the middle Hugo even went with Ilona to her German school class (I think he found it quite easy). It was great fun, and almost like being back in Switzerland. 

We also took a day trip to New York - this is Bryant Park

And some walks in the woods

We went up the Rockefeller Centre to check out the view

The last night we went to our nearby BBQ joint

Wilder enjoyed playing with the extra recyclin

Second race

On Sunday Bluet and Ilona (and Emily) ran the Race for the Cows at New Pond Farm. It was raining, as you can see. Bluet and Ilona set off together, into the rain, on the shorter kids 'piglet' run (I think a quarter of a mile), but as it started just after the slightly longer run, Bluet followed the kids ahead and actually ran further than anticipated (I think it was 0.8 miles), but she loved it. Muddy, we then headed home (it would've been fun to hang around if it was sunny, there were free bagels and coffee, but it was just too wet), while Emily ran her 7 mile race.

Antidisestablishmentarianism

When I was a kid I remember asking my Dad what the biggest number was (he told me it was infinity plus one, but now I personally think infinity to the power of infinity would be bigger), and also the longest word, which I was fascinated by. So when Bluet asked me what the longest word was, I was able to tell her that it was antidisestablishmentarianism. She then spent several days practicing until she could say it (spelling will come next). It was somewhat harder to explain what it meant when she asked, and she became bored during the explanation of what the established church was.

Here she is saying this very long word