Conversations with Preschoolers

This week I am substituting at the preschool extended day program...and they are FUNNY.

Scene: Outside on the playground.

Preschooler O: I am four.
Me: A long time ago I was four.
Preschooler O: Are you five now?
Me: I'm a grownup now.
Preschooler O: My mommy said when I grow up I'll be a mommy too.
Me: That won't be for a long time.
Preschooler O: Yeah. I'm going to kindergarten then I'll be a mommy.


Scene: Eating (baked) Cheetos for snack.

Me: These are Cheetos. They are made with cheese.
Preschooler H: AND TOES! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Me: Haha...that is clever.
Preschooler H: AND TOES!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. TOES!  (This kid lost his mind.)

 

Maine Bridge Weekend: Part 2

On Day 2 of Amy and her Mom visit bridges in Maine...we drove 3ish hours to midcoast Maine to check out the Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory. The Weather Channel promised me sunshine but this is all the sun/blue sky we saw:

The Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory is the only bridge observatory in the United States and at 420 feet above the river below, has the tallest and fastest elevator in the state of Maine. 

Stepping out of the elevator, I felt super dizzy. I think it was more to do with the elevator ride than the being super high up in the sky.

You could see forever and ever in all directions and while the sun would have made it much prettier, it was still a spectacular view.

After we descended from the observatory, we headed to (the original) Fort Knox...the defend the harbor one, not the full of gold one. 

The fort was incredible. 

We went underneath into the tunnels and walked, by way of the iPhone flashlight, through some scary, dark places. One hallway had more windows:

But most of them looked like this:

As we entered the tunnels, a cannon sounded. I felt like I was in the Hunger Games!

We spent about an hour wandering around then waited to see the canons fired.

Following our trip to the fort, we hit up one last lighthouse. Fort Point was quite the traditional Maine lighthouse....black, white, and red.

   

Maine Bridge Weekend: Part 1

I took Friday off so I had an extra long weekend and hit up Maine with Mom and the puppy. 

Our target was the Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory. But the Weather Channel told me it was going to be sunnier on Saturday (spoiler alert: they were wrong) so we spent Friday checking out some covered bridges.

The Hemlock Bridge in Fryeburg was the first one we visited. It was my favorite. The arches were beautiful and the windows let a lot of light in. 

I was nervous to drive across it but we made it out alive. The bridge is in the middle of nowhere. I was directing and my mom was driving and the conversation went like this:

Me: Take this right and go straight for 2 miles.

Road turns into a dirt road.

Mom: Umm....

Dirt road turns into a gated dirt path.

Mom: Umm...

Me: That's what the directions said!

Next, we hit up the Parsonfield-Porter Bridge. This bridge was super long and sketchy. It was all spray painted inside and as you walked across one end, you could hear the supports rattling beneath you. Obviously this bridge is a no car zone. 

Mom decided to take the long way home so we could stop by (drive over) one last covered bridge. Babb's Bridge is a replica of the original that was burned by vandals. It was built very differently from the others but was equally defaced as the Parsonfield-Porter bridge. Babb's Bridge was very dark and was quite scary to drive over.

I don't know how the bridges don't just bend in the middle and topple into the river below. It looks like it's just balanced there on the stone supports and a strong breeze would push it off! When we returned from our adventure, we took the puppy for a walk to the lake. 

The water was so still and the reflection was gorgeous. 

   

Conversations with Children: Preschool Edition

Scene: Lunchtime with preschoolers.

Preschooler A: Why do they have that lunch (i.e. school lunch)?
Miss M: Because some kids bring lunch from home and some kids buy lunch from the school cafeteria.
Preschooler S: I want that lunch.
Miss M: Well it's up to your moms and dads. They decide what you have for lunch.
Preschooler H: AND JESUS.
Miss M: side eye to me Um...really just your mom and dad choose your lunch.
Preschooler H: Yep. And Jesus. He made the trees and the camels and lunch.
Miss M: Take another bite Preschooler H.