Scavenger hunt at the beach

When we were at the beach last week, Gregory skipped his nap on Wednesday and Thursday, and by Friday he was exhausted. So when he finally passed out in the bed, he was out for a while. And with no TV at the house, Niko and Lena quickly got bored.

So I sent them inside to get their Fisher Price cameras, and while my folks and I sat on the deck (drinking mojitos), I sent them off on a scavenger hunt. First, find something you can travel in (I don't think this beach buggy has moved in years, but I let it slide).



Something round (rather than take a picture of the whole grill, Niko snapped this shot of the vent on the grill -- pretty cool, I thought).

Something sharp.

Something that floats.

Etc.

Harder than it looks!

Trust me -- I tried it! And I have to say, I could get addicted. But that's another story.

The kids were playing with these juggling sticks (a thousands of years old game invented by the Chinese as a way to practice martial arts) at a boutique (aka $$$$) toy story when we were at the beach. Back at home I found these sets at a local discount store (aka $). Niko spent much of the evening at the outdoor jazz concert trying to get the hang of it. And by the end of the night he could trow it up and catch it, and roll it back and forth. He's got such good coordination it won't be long before he's flipping it all over the place!

So sad!

I hope the reports are wrong. But according to a story in The Moscow Times, the Russian ministry of science and education, which oversees adoptions, barred the Cradle of Hope Adoption Center from operating in Russia. The ministry said Cradle (and another agency) failed to file the required update reports on adopted children.

Wow.

This is the agency we worked with. It was one of the first agencies to work in Russia in the early 1990s and one of the first to receive permanent accreditation in 2007.

Truth is, it is up to the adoptive parents to complete regular updates during the first three years after an adoption. And as a parent who has been there, I know what a pain it is (we were a little late on one of the six reports we were required to file, and for that I will always feel bad). I hope Cradle is able to overcome this. Because ultimately, it's the parents -- and more importantly the children -- who will suffer.

Lena and Mommy at the beach!

Lena has one of those Fisher Price cameras. She snapped these two shots while she and I were hanging out together on the deck overlooking the sound.