Housewarming

Dave's sister came to visit us. She brought a much needed houseplant for us, along with a miniature living room origami card that she made. So cute!

Rainy Days

I probably wouldn't have thought to get a rain gauge for a nine-year-old, but Sarasvati got one at her birthday party in May, and she has really enjoyed checking it this summer. We have had a wet couple of days here. It has been nice and cool. We have mostly been staying indoors, taking the opportunity for a bit of playground time in between showers.

Walking the dog in the morning, I once again forgot to account for the rain-heavy branches that normally would be a few inches above my head. This is something I do all the time. Is it my height? Do others also walk into trees on wet days, a cold splash in the face? (And did anyone see me?) At least after that I am awake, and no longer sleep-walking with my dog.

It looks like we have a rainy week ahead, so perhaps this could be a good time to get back into baking.

Playing Games

A little inside playtime on a so-so weather day, the girls are playing Star Wars, and practicing their Darth Vader breathing.

I was glad to see them play something other than Monopoly for once. They have been a bit obsessed with it lately, and usually someone ends up sad. Monopoly is such a hard game to lose. Growing up, my sisters and I would spend spring break with our grandparents, and if we weren't playing Chinese Checkers with our Mormor, we were playing Monopoly. The games would last hours and hours, and I stll remember how bitter it was, the moment you realized the dots on the dice would land you on "Boardwalk" - with a hotel!

These days I'm happy to lose if it means I get out of playing!  

Up In The Air

A few days ago, we went to Colt Park in Bristol to fly kites. There was hardly a breeze at all, unfortunately, but not much is needed for the lightest paper kites. Lots of fun!

Local Flavor: RI Coffee Milk

As far as trying local foods, there does not seem to be much available in the Ocean State for someone who doesn't eat seafood. The state's official beverage, however, is "Coffee Milk," milk mixed with a coffee flavored syrup. We gave it a try.

Most versions of coffee syrup seem to be full of high fructose yuckiness, but Dave found a ($9!) bottle of this stuff at Whole Foods. He liked the label. ;)

Let me start by saying that while we love coffee, we are not big fans of sweet drinks. I rarely drink soda, and Dave is really picky with his when he does. The few times I've tried coffee drinks at Starbucks I've found them way too sweet. (I much prefer to make my own frapps at home.) So it's no surprise, Dave and I both found our coffee milk to be too sweet (we had it mixed with unsweetened soy milk). And also no surprise, the kids loved it.

If you like sweet coffee drinks, this is it! Otherwise, we found a much better use for coffee syrup: We all agreed it is excellent as an ice cream topping!

Free Bowling!

Did you know that many bowling lanes have free bowling for kids during the summer? Great if you are looking for an air-conditioned activity to get out of the heat for a little! You still have to pay for shoe rental (usually around $3), but get 2 free games per day for the whole summer. Pretty good deal!

We have been doing this for the past few summers (still not very good at it), and just found a place near our new home that we will be going to for the rest of the summer.
If interested, it is easy to find a location and sign up at either Kids Bowl Free or AMF.

The Vegan Ice Cream Truck!

The park near our house has a huge farmers and crafts market every Saturday - lots of fun! We had a bit of a lazy morning yesterday, so by the time we made it out there we had unfortunately missed all the fresh peaches and apples. Next week we will have to go earlier! I picked up a few other things though, including a big bunch of organic basil that made it's way into a batch of pesto for tonight's dinner.

And then, just as we were leaving the park, this vegan ice cream truck pulled up at the corner! How amazing is that?! We had just had breakfast, but had to try some anyway, so we all shared a cup of soft serve. It was really good! The company is called "Like No Udder", and they have a GPS tracker on their website so you can find out where in the Providence area they are going to be. I will search them out again, for sure!

Hello From Rhode Island!

Well, our move went well, and we are starting to feel setted in our new home. We arrived three weeks ago. It has been three busy weeks, full of cleaning, unpacking, and exploring our new surroundings. And the early results are in: The whole family loves it here in Rhode Island! While most of the US has been suffering in a major heat wave, we've had a pleasant summer with non-humid temps in the 80s to low 90s (except for the day we moved in, when it was almost 100!). We have visited the beach, set up library accounts, and spent a lot of time out in parks and playgrounds, just taking in all that is new. We have explored Brown University, eaten at some pretty good restaurants, and spent 4th of July at the city's orchestra concert/fireworks show.

As we get moved in I will try to update more often. I don't have a functioning oven right now, so I won't be baking anything quite yet. Hopefully soon, or I'll be spending all my savings at the vegan bakery around the corner from us!