This past weekend, we packed up the car and drove to Albany, NY to participate in the Street Pianos exhibit. As we pulled out of our driveway, the crew of painters currently working on our house were already hard at work, painting the highest points of our house!
After a pretty easy three hour drive, we found ourselves in a cute deli just in time for lunch.
We then headed to the business district of Albany to begin our piano walking tour. Sadly, we learned that the city pretty much empties out on the weekends, so Caleb never had an audience...which was kind of the point of us going. A good number of the pianos that he played were in pretty rough shape, so the piano aspect of the trip was kind of a bust. The weather was perfect, and Caleb had the urge to play, so we spent a couple of hours walking around and listening to him do what he does best.
Lina and Levi were great sports as usual and found plenty of ways to make their own fun. Adelina was our designated piano spotter once again and we really needed her keen eyes!
A little video of Caleb playing
Another video
Caleb also enjoyed the piano in the hotel lobby....which was also empty. The kids had lots of fun in the hotel pool, Levi especially enjoyed cocktails (Shirley Temples all around) and nachos in the sports bar inside the hotel, and everyone enjoyed staying up late and eating pizza in our luxurious hotel suite. All-in-all it was a good weekend.
Caleb got dismissed right at noon on Thursday and we headed straight for the Common for a picnic lunch. Then we piled in the car, loaded with beach stuff, and drove to Crane Beach to spend the rest of the day.
It was low tide when we got there, so the kids immediately started digging a big hole to make their own personal pool.
We took lots of breaks from digging to swim in the ocean, which was super fun. As the tide came in, the pool got bigger and bigger.
They finally connected their pool to the tidal pool stream.
Of course, the tide finally met the walls of their creation and they struggled to keep it intact. It was so funny to watch them try to save it from the incoming waves. They ultimately lost the battle, but had the best time doing so. It was the perfect day to kick off the summer!
The last day of school was Thursday June 19th. Last week was a very busy, and somewhat emotional week....I guess every year will be this way. The kids were very excited to be finishing school for the year, but a little sad about it at the same time. Over the past couple of weeks, we've walked to school most days and the kids really love it. One the way, we usually run into 2-3 families and the walk turns into a "party".
The Barnes kids with Addy and Molly...part of the "walk to school party".
The school morning began with a ceremony for the Hundred Mile Club kids. The entire school came out to the playground and the kids who participated in the Hundred Mile Club were recognized.
Each kid that completed 100 miles during the school year got a medal, and the medals were presented in order of the number of miles completed. Adelina and Levi were even recognized as part of the "Junior Varsity" team and were applauded for their daily participation. As you might expect, Caleb got his medal last and it was a pretty emotional scene. The video isn't great, so turn your volume up....but the gist of the speech was that Caleb finished the year with 204 miles (2nd place was 117 miles) and that he was an inspiration to watch all year long. It was just the coolest thing to see how people responded to his achievement and so many of the teachers were bursting with pride for him. So many people came up to me afterwards with tears in their eyes...I was impressed that I held it together! It was a great morning!!
Since Caleb's room is just about complete, he's been inviting us all to have sleep overs in his room. Adelina was the first lucky one to sleep over. I couldn't help but sneak in and take a picture.
The next morning was Father's Day and Caleb and Randy had signed up to run a 5K together. There was a kid's fun run around the Common park and Levi was very happy to have the chance to participate. He even got into the stretching.
Caleb and Lina cheering on the little kids.
Race time!!
A few videos from the morning, including bagpipes kicking off the race and Caleb finishing strong.
Caleb finished the 5K in a blistering 24 minutes, 22 seconds....his fastest race by far. It was a pretty warm morning and the last mile was generally uphill, which makes his 7:52 pace even more impressive. He's gonna be faster than me before I know it!
