The artsy-fartsy day

Today, I took a well-deserved day off from work and completed an ambitious schedule. My DH has been with the boys daily since the July 4 holiday, so he took the chance for a day off to do whatever the heck he wanted.

My neighbor, who is the art teacher at the local elementary school, had never been to the Grounds for Sculpture (www.groundsforsculpture.org) so we made plans to take her, her 10 year old boy and 11, 9 and 7 over to visit.

After grad school last night, I woke up early to hit the gym. My BOSU step class was not what I imagined and I felt gypped - and it hurt my knees a bit to try to master the BOSU. Tomorrow morning is TKO, an insane class that is sooooooo hard and rewarding. After the BOSU class this morning, I picked up some food (shrimp, pepperoni, cheese chunks, a hoagie, capri suns, ice for the cooler) and packed everything in my minivan then we trekked across the state to visit.

This place is beautiful. We walked for hours while the boys alternated between shouting out in the joy of discovery and being just plain mean to each other. Oh, the joy. My absolute favorite painting of all time is Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party" which is replicated in life-size sculpture at the Grounds, right on the river. We had to cross Monet's bridge to get there, so it was a double whammy. All I could think was how pleased I was to share this with an art teacher who had never been there.

While we examined the Luncheon sculpture, my neighbor took pictures of me pretending that I was invited to the party. In retrospect, they look rather incongruous, but it was fun at the time. If I ever figure out how to put in photos, you all can see it for yourself.

A very rewarding day off, even if I didn't make it to the beach.

ThatGirl