Cayuga Nature Center

Our branch playgroup took a trip to the Nature Center this past Wednesday to play in the 6 story tree house that overlooks a gorge. I first took Norah to this tree house when she was just barely 1 and I remember thinking how much more fun it would be if she was just a few years older. I think this was our 6th time and it was definitely the most fun yet – probably because Norah is older but also because we went with so many kids. They had a blast chasing each other and ducking in the nooks to hide and surprise each other.

I love this picture of the kids lining up to climb this ladder because you can really see how they clump together in a pack. They always want to be in the same spot at the same time. There is only about a 6 month age span between these 4 particular kiddos.

And here they are emerging

Here they are at the top of the tree house with Natalia who was unanimously elected by the other moms to climb up the ladder and supervise. BTW I just want to publicly thank Natalia for keeping playgroup running. It would have fallen apart without her and it has been such a wonderful experience.

Norah and Callie. We visited the tree house early in the school year with who was then known as  Baby Callie. Incredibly what a difference a school year makes in the life of a child. Oh memories sniff sniff.

The Group Photo (Alice was not pictured due to inability to sit up): Edie, Ellie, Graham, Norah, Callie and Audrey

After the Nature Center we headed a little farther up 89 to the Cayuga Creamery for some lunch, train time and of course ice cream.

Ever since spring break I’ve had a list in my mind of places like these that I want to visit one last time before we leave Ithaca – but a part of me thinks “oh we’ll squeeze in one more trip to the farmers market or the commons or fill in the blank.” But now that we have just two weeks till Bryan graduates the reality that we have to say goodbye to Ithaca and all of our beloved Ithacans is sinking in. Bryan and I took sometime today to calendar the rest of our time here to make sure we maximize what we have left while still getting our packing done. We were left with a sense of urgency that prompted us to finally take a campus tour today. During the tour we ran into one of our favorite undergrads in the branch and then two of our favorite Alpha Phi’s so we kept side stepping to catch up with them. It is going to be hard to say good bye.