Cecilia would like to try out for districts this year and continue with the jazz band. Both of these require practice and auditions above and beyond the regular school band.

Practice and the summer… sort of oil and water. Something is better than nothing. The longer the time frame for results, the less you need intensity and the more you need consistency.

I’m trying to be more mellow about daily to-do’s whether that is my own writing or Cecilia’s trombone time and fall back on the parenting rule that if you want results from your kids the best bet is to model the behavior yourself.

Consistency isn’t simply willpower, which comes and goes. Consistency is doing it when you don’t feel like doing it. If both girls learn that lesson, they’ll be okay in whatever they choose to do.

The girls had headed down to the Cape a few days early (can’t hear Dad talking about practice 100 miles away!), so the couch was a lonely place on Saturday morning.

But our favorite workout buddy was ready to go.

The key to a successful Cape day is to get over the bridge before 9 a.m. otherwise you could get an extra hour tacked onto your drive. We just squeaked under the deadline. Traffic was building but moving.

The other key to a successful Cape beach day is to get your spot early, especially on the Fourth or, like yesterday, the annual association beach party day.

The beach party is a mostly pot luck affair. Team Donohue was on desserts and, with our PEI trip in a few weeks, I had hand pies on the mind.

Mini-blueberry hand pies with a lemon glaze (not pictured).

Future salon owner training. It was a good result as the client had no tears and no complaints.

Funny, I don’t have to tell her to practice her hair design skills.

This week the crab fishing was a little less successful but not less fun. The girls continue to preach the gospel of hot dog jetty fishing to curious passersby.

Visual proof that I do go in the water.

There was the annual visit to Ocean’s Edge next door to visit the beach bar where Ally discovered a whole new world of delicious frozen drinks.

Not just once but twice!

You can imagine with that level of energy just how much dancing occurred over the course of the next few hours. Thankfully the tide had gone out, so she had plenty of room.

The rest of the day was mostly filled with sunsets and small talk. I like one of those.

And if pot luck is the people’s choice then the hand pies were popular. All two dozen were gone quickly. Even if there still needs to be some education in the US on just what they are. I heard most people refer to the as the ‘blueberry somethings.’

Happy Sunday!