Postcards From the Peanut Gallery Wk. 6

6/30 - 7/3/14 Camp Fun
While a little apprehensive at first, by day two, Natalie was nearly running into the building to participate in "104 Days of Summer" at COCA. A half-day camp devoted to developing skills in dramatic play, team-building and creativity through art and games.  Cardboard boxes became time machines.  A piece of foam board was transformed into a bumper car. On the last day, Steve and I attended her group's culmination program.  During the 15 minute performance, the kids pretended to blast off to a new planet in a ship of their own design and venture into a new time and place.  They weaved their hand-made bumper cars through an obstacle course and more! With applause, Natalie's smile stretched from ear to ear...I know we'll be looking at programs for the fall.

7/2/14 Visitor's Day at Camp Happy Day
While this is Noah's fifth year attending camp, I am continually impressed with the staff and programming available at Camp Happy Day.  Getting kids (especially those who already struggle academically) excited and engaged with reading, writing and math is a tall order, made even tougher during the summer months when kids just want to "be done" with learning.  Under the direction of creative teachers and loving camp counselors, Noah has thrived and looked forward to going to camp each day.  And, with only six campers in his group, he receives the attention he needs to succeed.  Thank you Action for Autism! Thank you to all our friends and family who have contributed in the past to Action for Autism.  Your donations have made a huge difference in Noah's life.  

In reading class each student had to talk about a favorite toy or pet and then take questions from their audience.

Camp Happy Day has a seasoned art teacher on staff that has them tie dying, creating outrageous 4th of July party hats, plaster stepping stones and more!

7/3/14 Sweet Stop
In between running both kids to camp and grocery shopping, Steve and I squeezed in a stop at Pie Oh My.  Located on Sutton Avenue, the sweet shop, offers a range of nearly 40 made from scratch sweet and savory pies in four sizes. Daily offerings vary and depend on availability of seasonal fruit.  Pie snobs look no further for a slice of heaven.

Cherry Crumble - delish! The owner told me after receiving more than 100 requests, she finally decided to add cherry to the menu.  It is the only pie flavor that is not made with fresh fruit...because she simply could not find a wholesaler.  She uses frozen sour cherries, but so far no complaints from anyone.

7/3/14 Impromptu Play Date
After lunch, Steve and I took advantage of the unseasonably cooler temps to enjoy DesPeres Park with the kids.  When we arrived there were only a handful of kids on the playground. Noah watched as a few kids played tag and asked if he could join in.  But, he was told no and when he asked why - the response was simply "because we don't want to."
Argh.
As you can probably imagine, Noah was crushed and began spiraling downward - that is until I received a text from my friend, Eraka.  When I shared with her what had just transpired - she simply sent in her cavalry.  Within minutes her husband and three youngest children were on hand and ready to play.  She did this - even though she was expecting out of town guests in a few hours.  She couldn't help...but help.  What could have been a very short and negative outing, was quickly transformed into an awesome, impromptu play date.  Eraka and her step-sister, Megan and her three kids later joined us at the park.  We laughed, we played, we fished...Dear God - Thank you for loving, faithful friends.

Steve caught a catfish and asks Natalie if she can hear it "squeak".

Ava had no problem holding the fish

Eraka...not so sure she wanted to hold Ava's latest catch.

 You can almost hear Rhys' high pitched squeals.

Marissa, wanna give the fish a kiss? Ok.

Because mud is much more fun than any playground equipment.

4th of July Fun!   

While attending our hometown parade is a tradition we enjoy each year, this was perhaps the most pleasant weather we've ever experienced on the 4th.  Another surprise -- we bumped into our friends, the McCullas, once more!  The kids had a ball waving and clapping and diving for candy thrown out by parade participants.  That evening we took the Metrolink into Forest Park to experience Fair St. Louis.  A first for all of us.  We trekked 6/10 of a mile from the Metro station to the fairground gates and then headed for Art Hill.  The place was crawling with people, but my camp was just happy to be in the mix.  Natalie even ran into a friend of hers at the kid's area.  We left before the 10 pm fireworks, but arrived home just in time to watch the night sky light up a block from our house.

  

Webster Groves 4th of July Parade
There's no place like home.

Parade Posse

 Fair St. Louis - Forest Park

Blue Bunny gave out free single serving tubs of Bunny Tracks. Mmm

Bricks4Kidz were on hand to engage children with fun projects.

Noah and Natalie try out Purina Farms' agility course.

The Flying Wallendas had us holding our breath.

7/5/14 Birthdays and BBQ
We celebrated our neighbor's grandson's 1st birthday. I love this shot of  Ethan and his expression as he glimpses his green grin.

7/6/14  No Bones About It - A Good Time
On Sunday we headed south for a new adventure. Though I've lived in St. Louis all my life, I've never been to Mastodon State Historic Site.  Located about 20 miles south of the city, the site is the home of the Kimmswick Bone Bed, one of the most  extensive Pleistocene ice age deposits of fossils, including a number of mastodon bones. Interpretative trails and picnic sites dot the park and a museum tells the story of the Clovis culture, which existed in the area between 10,000 and 14,000 years ago. Afterwards we stopped in at The Blue Owl for Sunday dinner of fried chicken with all the fixins. The last time I had been to Kimmswick was as a kid for their annual Apple Butter Festival.  The kids really enjoyed meandering through the small town shops.  We had planned to walk off our meal and then enjoy a slice of the Blue Owl's "Levee High Apple Pie" made famous after it made Oprah's list of favorite things, but when we returned, the display case was nearly empty.  We settled for a slice of Death by Chocolate cake. We'll be back!

"Another cake!"

"I bet the Tooth Fairy would leave a million dollars for these teeth!"

We took the half mile, Wildflower Trail, but the park also offers a 3/4 mile hike and another trail that is just over two miles.

Smartphone users can enjoy an audio tour.

 

Pies, Cakes and Cookies, Oh My!

Steve was in fried chicken heaven.

 

Postcards From the Peanut Gallery Wk. 3

6/9/14  I'm doing a happy dance as today marks the first day of camp!  Noah is returning to Camp Happy Day - a place that has not only served to keep him from falling behind in his schoolwork during the summer, but has encouraged him to try so many new things like climbing a 30 foot ladder and playing basketball! During the five week course, he'll receive 1 on 1 speech and language support, reading and math instruction, swimming lessons twice a week and weekly field trips. We could have never sent him to this camp without the generous support of Action for Autism. For Natalie, she is enrolled at Camp COCA for a 5 day session called "Best of Broadway. 

6/13/14  TGIF! Natalie had a wonderful experience.  At the end of each day she hugged her teacher, Ms. Boneau and told her she would miss her.  I was really impressed with the enthusiasm and professionalism of both her instructors. Janne Boneau, has been working at COCA for 15 years and holds a Masters degree in music and Jess Ruhlin, professional ballerina, painter and writer for Alive Magazine and Bodies Never Lie, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance Pedagogy.  Natalie and her fellow campers enjoyed showing off the songs and dance skills they learned throughout the week.

That evening, we invited my folks to join us for Webster Groves' 10th Annual Gazebo series. For six consecutive Fridays in the summer, the events offer free live music followed by a movie. On this evening, the air was actually a bit cool. Another bonus -- no mosquitos! We brought blankets and chairs, but didn't have time to pull together a cheese tray.  McDonald's is located across the street -- we made do with a couple orders of the Golden Arches finest fried potatoes.  The band was called Bible Belt Sinners - a rockabilly group with lots of personality and lyrics that really made you LOL.

Pre-party duel

All the kids loved jumping and crawling around Bob Cassilly's apple chairs. I think it would have made him happy.

     A couple of Hoopster fitness instructors were on hand to show off a new way to make exercise more fun.
Hoop Fit classes offered Thursdays @ 5:30 p.m. on the Shaw School lawn.  $5 drop in fee.

Bible Belt Sinners belting it out.

6/14/14 We had an exciting morning.  After many months of preparation, Edgar Road School can now boast to have not one, but two, Buddy Benches on its grounds. I learned about the concept back in December when I read this in the Huffington Post. Thankfully our principal and fearless leader, Dr. Retzlaff, agreed.

But how?

Serendipidiously, Mark Curtin, a former ERS student came to visit Dr. R and happened to mention he was seeking Eagle Scout status.

Hmmm...you don't say?

About the same time, I contacted my friend/Webster Groves Garden Club member, Sarah Whitney, to see if her group had any grants available.

They did.

And, our proposed project was completely in line with their group's mission.  It was truly wonderful because it offered an opportunity for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to work together.  While Mark  learned how to manage a team project and earned his wings, the girls devoted their time to learning all they could about gardening.  Under the direction of, Sarah, they examined the proposed Buddy Bench areas to decide which flowers would be best suited for the therapeutic gardens that would hug each bench.  They considered color, height and blooming seasons.  They selected lavender and lilac for their sweet smelling properties and velvety leaved lamb's ear along with butterfly bushes to attract a fluttery friend or two.

We even received a little press.  I hope it serves to inspire more Scouts to build Buddy Benches on playgrounds across the planet!

A heartfelt thank you goes out to the Webster Groves Garden Club without whom none of this would have been possible.  

And, I'm happy to report that the Buddy Bench movement has really gained momentum.  Today five other countries now have benches and there are more than 300 confirmed benches in more than 40 states! Christian's parents now have a website providing step by step instructions for other schools to attain a Buddy Bench. 

The Dirty Knees Club

That afternoon we headed out to Gray Summit, MO for Purina Farms Blue Grass Festival and Kids Country Carnival.   While we had been out there a few years ago for their annual Easter Village, the kids had no memory of the visit so everything was new again for them. We arrived just in time for the dog agility show but missed out on the opportunity to milk a cow.  After the show we listened to the band and enjoyed a snow cone.  Later we headed to the barn to visit a few furry friends.  We finished our tour with a tractor ride around the grounds.  Good times. 

This is one of my favorite cakes.  I love Charlie Houska's art - so bright and fun.

6/15/14  Happy Father's Day! My brother and I gathered our families to celebrate at our parent's house.  With our Dad's birthday on the 19th - we also observed his special day with cake, ice cream and an exchange of gifts.  Steve and I bought him a poker table topper and Brian taught us all to play Texas Hold 'Em.  It was a good time but we learned a few things. 1. Jack has no poker face. 2. If we had a farm...Natalie would risk losing it any chance she got!