Caps for Sale

We did quite a few activities with this book. One day we set up a hat store. I put hats in different places around the room, gave the kids small purses with some coins inside and they each took their cart (a stroller in Alexa's case) around the room selecting hats they wanted to buy. As soon as they walked in the room, I'd call out, "Caps for Sale. 50 cents a Cap."

 

I drew a picture of the peddler and cut out little caps. Then they took turns gluing the caps on the peddler's head in the order they appeared in the book.

During the week we also watched a version of Caps for Sale on DVD.

Kelly's Island - Marblehead Lighthouse

After taking the ferry ride back on Sunday, we stopped at the Marblehead Lighthouse. Last time we were here, Steve and I bought a figurine of the lighthouse. So, it was nice for the kids to see the real lighthouse after playing with the pretend one.

Poor Jared. On Saturday, after falling asleep at the beach, we took his temperature and it was 102. We were able to bring it down, but he was pretty out of it the next day on the way home. He didn't even wake up the entire time my dad carried him around the lighthouse, so he missed the whole thing.

Alexa had a wonderful time with her daddy walking on the stones and throwing rocks into the lake.

We stopped with Amy, her husband and son to fill up on gas and ate some ice cream. Then Amy and Joe headed for thier home. My parents followed us and ate with us later at a rest stop. Steve won a ball in a game, and the kids had a good time catch before getting in the car for the last few hours drive.

Kelly's Island - Alexa's Family Pictures

Here's a collection of family pictures Alexa took around the house during our vacation. The picture above is Amy's husband.

Aunt Amy resting in the chair.

Papa just waking up.

Kelly's Island - Homecoming

During the time we were there, the island had a festival called Homecoming, celebrating the different homes on Kelly's Island. I think it was sponsored by the Kelly's Island Homeowners Association. We didn't see it but they had a parade in the morning. In the afternoon, they had special activities including a display of animals that had been rescued by a local nature center. I don't have pictures of them, but the kids especially liked the snakes and turtles, although I found the birds the most impressive.

They also had a band playing big band music, which we listened to while we ate a picnic lunch nearby. We were also able to enjoy the music while the kids played in the playground right next to the pavillion where the band was playing.

Kelly's Island - Quarry Hike

I liked this hike second best because it really was beautiful and the kids enjoyed it more than the first hike, but it sure was hot!  In fact, I think it was almost the hottest it has been for us this summer. You'd think going to an island in the Great Lakes the last half of August would be cooler, but it was in the high 80's and very humid.

The area was used as a quarry from 1933 - 1940. The small lake in the middle of the quarry is called Horseshoe Lake.

We walked down to the water's edge. Right away the kids wanted to do their favorite activity: throwing rocks into the water. Soon, Steve was impressing us with his rock-skipping abilities, and we were all trying to do it too.

At one point, a butterfly landed right on top of my sister's head and stayed there for a little while. It would almost land on a finger that you held out.

On this hike, the kids picked up big sticks, and we called them their walking sticks.  Up til that point they had started to be a bit whiny and wanted to be carried, but the walking sticks definitely helped to keep them walking on their own.

After walking halfway around the rim, we were all getting a bit tired, especially the kids, so we decided to cut across the middle of the quarry. It was a bit of a steep downward climb, but the kids looked at it as an adventure.

Halfway across the middle of the quarry, we noticed that people had been piling stones on top of each other to make kind of a stone monument, sort of like a modern Stonehedge. Alexa did her part and added to the little monument.

Kelly's Island - Boardwalk Hike

On Friday, the 14th we took our first hike. I'm not sure technically what it was called, but I'm calling it the Boardwalk hike because during parts of the hike we were on a boardwalk.

We hiked down about a half mile til we came to a "tower" which was really just a raised platform about fifteen feet in the air where you could look out over the wooded area. The kids were impressed with it for about 30 seconds and then wanted to come down again. Alexa liked being lifted up to the signs as we passed by them and "reading" them to us. She'd usually pick out a good five to seven words that she knew though.

There were a bit whiny during the hike, and Jared particularly wanted to be carried for 3/4th of the time, still it was a good introduction. We do small hikes in the woods near our home, and they usually walk fine there, but for some reason on this day they didn't want to walk that much.

Kelly's Island - The Beach

At Kelly's Island, there is one public beach available at the State Park. Not many great options, still the first time we went there, we had the beach pratically to ourselves. It was later in the evening on a Thursday night. At first we were just planning on checking out the beach area (Steve and I had not come down here on our last visit), but after putting their feet in the amazingly warm water (very surprising for a lake), the kids just had to get on their suits and take a dip. 

Later on, they had great fun making sand castles with Grammy.

There were several canoes and kayaks stacked up along the end of the beach, and Alexa and Jared just had to climb up inside them. They were very disappointed we couldn't take one out then, and the next day, after we found out it was $18 for a half hour, we said no thanks again. We'd rather save renting a boat for our next big vacation in the middle of September.

On Friday and again on Saturday, we went down by the beach in the afternoon. Alexa especially loved being in the water. Jared was not always so thrilled. He went in but preferred staying closer to the shore, although he did go out with Steve a few times in a little deeper water to play shark.

Below is a picture of the sand castle Alexa made with Steve.