Free Fun Friday





 



 

We don't live in Massachusetts. However we are close enough to take daily trip there and have free fun on Fridays. Why Not?!

I also can't believe this gorgeous weather that we are having right now. After the long and cold winter, the summer just seems to be spoiling us. For now.

That weather accompanied us yesterday to the Berkshire. We decided to visit Tanglewood. A summer place for Boston Symphony Orchestra.
The grounds of that place are breathtaking; spacious, green, well kept and with a beautiful views around. The pictures that I took don't do justice to this place!

I enjoyed the walks, the green fresh air, the music the performances and the family scavenger hunt.
Kids had a chance to try out different instruments, draw a picture or a poem, listen to the rehearsals, to the singing and watching the dancers. If that wasn't enough, the kids had received prizes for completing the hunt. The gifts were very elegant and thoughtful.

I regret that we did not have chance to listen to the string concert and have faces painted. There just wasn't enough time for everything!

There are many more Fridays this summer, most of them won't be "free fun", but there few on the list I do not want to skip.

Kinga:)

 

 

 

 



The strawberry day

Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. So because it is almost the end of strawberry season I put aside today for strawberry picking.
Before setting out the door I checked what books might go with strawberries and the operating hours of the strawberry farm. It said from 8am until 6:30pm.
We were all set!
We hit the traffic due to the road work. I did not worry, we had all day.

We arrived at the farm stand at 11:55am, just to be told that there won't be any strawberry picking until 4pm; and that is how they run that business. Too bad they did not add that info to their website!
So after driving 30 minutes and getting my kids excited, especially the little ones, we just turned around and left.
I had promised myself that I won't be coming to this farm anymore and won't spend a dime over there! You might say I was very angry, just a little upset. Kids were disappointed, and Kiki told me if I want to use a bad word, that's fine with her :) ( I do not use bad words! )

I did not wanted to spoil the rest of the day, not for the kids, not for myself. So we drove to Sam's Club and got four pounds of strawberries. We drove to the library and got books about strawberries. We even drove a Strawberry Field Rd, just for the heck of it!

We made strawberry lemonade and drunk it while listening to "Strawberry Fields Forever".
We read the books from the library.
We made strawberry jam, and spinach/strawberry salad for dinner. For dessert we had strawberry ice cream.

It was strawberry day all right, even if we did not do the picking.
Next week we will try to do it again, but on the different farm!

 

 



 

Kinga:)



Noc Swietojanska 2014

 

 



This year is our third time celebrating Noc Swietojanska, a vigil of Saint John the Baptist. Celebration has little to do with St. John, but a lot with Polish culture and the summer solstice.
How the legend started and when it came from, even if I knew sometime ago, I don't remember now. But maybe by next year I should look into it.
This particular legend, that I like to read to my children and the one that I remember so very well, is about Kwiat Paproci, the Fern Flower, that blooms only once a year. Whoever finds it, will possess all the riches, under one condition, s/he can't share it with anybody.
My children so far heard it three times, and year by year they still like to listen to it, even though it requires listening in Polish and waiting for translation.
The simple festivities of the night included the Story, the fire with roasting marshmallows, lightning sparkles and looking for the Fern Flower.
Did they find the treasures? I think so! I hope Kiki, Zuzia and Kubus will remember them for years to come. They are in those special family moments!

Kinga:)

About this weekend

 

 



It was a gorgeous weekend, so as expected, we hoped for nice, family centered, relaxing two days, right? Well, those days did not live to the expectations. Since I decided not to complain on my blog, ( I want to remember only good times ), I will just post good pictures.
It was family centered all right, but there was a lot of talking back, whinnying, misunderstanding, complaining, quarreling and disobeying.
Yet between all those things, that put everybody in the bad mood, Andrzej managed to put the pool up, kids relaxed a little while painting ( it did not matter what, just how it made them feel ), we enjoyed a couple of surprising World Cup games, took part in Great Outdoor Pursuit in my favorite outdoor place in RI - Pulaski State Park, and girls finally got to watch Dr. Who. They will have something to talk about with their friends ( that's what Kiki says ).
 All's well that ends well!


Kinga:)



{ this moment }

{this moment} ~ A Friday ritual. A  few single  photos  - no words - capturing moments from the week;
joining Amanda.

 

Kinga:)