Grace & Lucy’s Web Log

Some families tour the National Parks, others, like us tour the nation’s playgrounds. Since life in NYC requires at least 4 or 5 playground visits per week, why should vacation be any different?

No surprise here: Grace likes parks, and loves being a big sister.

Lucy, on the other hand, likes to use a playground visit as a way to catch up on her nap:

It’s not always about the park - sometimes a backyard (or in this case, Uncle Don and Aunt Marge’s backyard) provides some intrigue:

As an aside, Lucy has become so proficient at pulling her sister’s hair that sometimes Grace pre-empts her and does it herself:

The Midwest tour also gave Grace and Lucy a chance to visit their other Grandparents who moved, in July, to Mishawaka, Indiana (or in Grace speak: a groundhog). Here Lucy shows how quickly she can switch from her angel face to her devil face:

Before hitting the playgrounds of Mishawaka, both Grace and Lucy got a little quality time with their grandma:

While Grace tried to determine whether getting dizzy makes her vomit (it doesn’t), Lucy received a little Cell Phone 101 from her Aunt Mary:

And no trip to Mishawaka is complete without a little quality time with Uncle Ed:

Apparently, no Midwest tour is complete without a good old fashioned cat hunt - a task for which Grace and Lucy were a tad out of their element. After all, the only cats they’ve seen are in the windows of certain food establishments (some even wander near the open air salad bar), and leashed (yes, leashed) in some NYC parks. Fortunately Grace had her Great Aunt Lu and Cousin Lee to show her the ropes:

Grace talked a good game - up until the cat was actually located :

Lucy on the other hand, preferred to stay on the back porch with her great grandparents. After all, now that she officially started toddling, she needs lots of things to hold on to in order to stay standing (the only way she’s happy these days).

Grace discovered just how tricky a screen door can be:

Since the train tracks are only about 100 feet from Grace and Lucy’s Great Grandparents’ porch - cat hunting quickly became much less interesting than trainspotting:

Even Lucy wanted to get in on the action, leaving the comfort of the back porch and joining her dad out in the field next to the train tracks:

A week-long (476 photo) trip to the Midwest was a reminder that there are a few skills the girls haven’t quite acquired yet - like swimming pool etiquette or birdbath refilling (or actually enjoying a ride in a car - which isn’t necessarily the worst thing).

Grace was obsessed with making sure the birds had enough bathwater - and in case they wanted to bathe on her face, she’s ready for that possibility as well:

Never take your eye off the birdbath:

Lucy had a good time just being out of New York - since hair pulling is her favorite hobby, she really enjoyed hanging out with her Grandmother (she’ll need to find a different hobby when hanging out with her Grandpa)

As a special treat, Grace and Lucy’s grandparents got a pool in anticipation of the girls’ visit. Unfortunately, Grace isn’t particularly good at distinguishing the water you swim in from the water you drink:

In a carefully orchestrated set-up, Lucy pretended to really, really like putting on sunscreen (getting Grace’s attention) while their Grandpa snuck up on Grace and poured water over her head (AND she wasn’t upset about getting water in her eyes…hmm…something to remind her of next time she complains during a bath)

It appears as though Grace may be plotting her revenge in that final photo.