Appleport Lane to County Road ZZ

We recently returned from a lovely vacation in Door County. During our last vacation, I started a tradition of vacation ABC's. You can read more about that here. It was a fun way to spend the time on a long car trip. When Emily gets older it will be a fun way to encourage letter knowledge and narrative skills. Best of all, it will be a way to remember our trip.

Here are the ABC's of our trip.

A is for Appleport Lane (where our cabin was)
B is for "Bobblehead girl" -- Emily bouncing while eating dinner
C is for Cabin -- "The Refuge"
D is for Detours (five!)
E is for Emily learning to crawl
F is for Fishboils, Farmer's Market (Seaquist) and fall foliage
G is for Goats at Al Johnsons
H is for Hugs, lots from Emily
I is for Imagination--The miniature gnome home at the library

Gnome home at the Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Library

J is for Junkyard Trail (long story)
K is for Kindle by candlelight
L is for Liberty Grove Library, Loon sighting
M is for Mission Grill--Mom and Dad's Night Out
N is for Nature walks
O is for On the swing at the water's edge with Grandma and Papa
P is for the Piggly Wiggly (love that name!) and Pioneer Living -- no electricity, water or phones for 2 days
Q is for sQueals of delight all week long and even more when we got home
R is for the Rickety Pier
S is for Sand Beach Park
T is for the Trolls at Al Johnsons
U is for Under Grandma's chair for a dulcimer concert (best seat in the house!)
V is for Vacation in Sister Bay, Door County
W is for the Wind Storm of the Century & Wild turkeys on crossing the road
X is for eXtra special time with Grandma and Papa
Y is for Yummy cherry pie
Z is for County Road ZZ

On the porch with Grandma

Do you like my ring, Papa?

Vacation ABC's

There is a long tradition of playing games with children on long trips. It's a fun way to keep them occupied and help pass the time. As a child we played "My father owns a grocery store, and in it he sells___" Or we looked for the alphabet on signs and license plates.

Emily is too little for any kind of meaningful game; her rings and a toy keep her content. She was more interested in the train window than anything outside of it. But I needed something to keep from getting stir crazy. So, we played a game that I plan to make a tradition~Vacation ABC's.

As she sat on my lap I went through the alphabet recalling things from our vacation. She enjoyed the sound of my voice as I reminisced about the trip. Who knows how many words she understood, but all babies are sponges when it comes to language and new experiences.

When she gets older she will be able to contribute to the game, first with naming a word that goes with the alphabet. Later she'll add her memories and talk about them in more depth. This will be a meaningful way to capture memories of the trip. She will also develop her letter knowledge and narrative skills, both key skills in early literacy.

Here is the result of our first vacation ABC's.

A-Asparagus, growing wild on the hobby farm
B-Basil, tasting it for the first time
C-Chugga, chugga, choo-choo
D- Dog, meeting Minnie the dachshund
E-Emily's first vacation
F-Flora, Miss Flora McFlimsey (by Mariana), one of Grandma's favorite books as a girl
G-Giraffe toy
H-Hummingbirds, watching grandma make sugar water
I-Ice cream at Central Dairy Creamery
J-"Jiggety-jiggety, jumping jacks..."
K-Kicking and splashing in the bath
L-Lion's Club Park
M-Missouri on vacation
N-Napping with Grandpa
O-Outside, in the garden watching Grandma, taking walks, exploring the wild flowers
P-Piano, playing with Grandma
Q-Queens, being treated like them!
R-Reading with Grandma
S-Sunday School
T-Traveling by train for the first time
U-Union Station to meet Daddy
V- Vanilla ice cream, Yum!
W-Wooden objects, watching Papa make them in his shop
X-X-tra special trip to visit the grandparents
Z-Zinnias on the table

A Walk in the Garden

Today we went to Cantigny Park. With its formal gardens, ponds and fountains, it has something to offer every nature lover. We enjoy taking a stroll to see all the flowers. I can imagine when she is older, running through the sprinklers and wanting to smell every flower. Now she is content to smell the fresh air and take a nap in the stroller.