When my friend Ariane and I were kids, we used to film our own talk show in her basement. It was called The Jamie Fairbanks show, and we took turns being Jamie Fairbanks. Nowadays, Ariane/Jamie lives in lovely Swampscott on the North Shore, and we spent the day with her today.  I told the kids on the way home about The Jamie Fairbanks Show, and I think Hazy was secretly impressed. George had no comment.

We spent the morning at Phillips Beach, doing our usual beach activities: jumping over waves, throwing sand or getting yelled at for throwing sand (depending on who you are), eating PB&Js, finding treasures, and cursing out the beach cart.

After the beach, I attempted to put George down for a nap IN THE SAME ROOM AS ARIANE’S BABY, which is pretty much like trying to climb the K2 with no training. But by some miracle, George went right to bed, instead of his usual 20-45 minutes of singing and giving himself pep talks (“You’re big! You’re a big guy!”).

After George’s nap (and while Ariane’s two little guys’ naps continued), we had some backyard fun.

On the way home, we had a brief shopping interlude.

It may not be as exciting as Legoland, but we had such a good time at Ariane’s, that Hazy said she was sad that they lived so far away, and wishes we could go back tomorrow.