Today we defrosted the chest freezer. The kids helped in the beginning and did a great job packing food into other locations to keep them cold. I was rather surprised at how well they packed stuff in, actually.
I also was happy with how all the food went back into the freezer. I know I got rid of a few things, but I was able to reorganize well too and it feels so much happier.
Isaac got his prize from the rock climbing competition. It's unclear whether he got second (per a note in the prize bag) or third (per the coach's memory). He got a bag, a chalk bag, lots of stickers, and a t-shirt.
Also, I finished two 5.8 routes today! One was a new one that I flashed...the handholds were easy to grab. The other one I've been working on for a while and have never managed to get more than about 1/2 way up. Something just worked today and I did it twice!
We started out our day in the water park...sort of. It doesn't open until 10, and guess who wakes up way before then? Pretty much all of us. Joshua and I started working on a scavenger hunt. He's always the person I can count on to walk around and explore whatever place we happen to be in, but the scavenger hunt helped to give us purpose. We got all but two items, but by then we needed to get back to the room.
I don't have many pictures from the water park, but my notes say we had a great opening! The lines weren't too long, so Isaac and Ben did the Flowrider and Joshua and I rode the water coaster in the back a few times.
We eventually met up and eventually tried all the rides, including a twister ride. It always had a line, and it shot you out into a funnel and then you just dropped about four feet into the pool. We did it a few times throughout the trip, but it wasn't our favorite. There was also a tube ride that was only open once in a while: we finally got on it and it was not exciting. A calm ride. Ben and Isaac did the extra big drop slides, where you stand on a floor and then the floor drops out from under you. Joshua and I had no desire to do that; so Joshua got me on the FlowRider because the line wasn't too long. It was ok. I'm glad everyone else was enjoying it, but I was content watching.
During this time Ben also managed to get a cut on his big toe. He was walking quickly, trying to get to some friends before they disappeared, slipped, and cut his toe on the floor texturing. The nearby life guard was helpful, but the supervisor that he called to actually help (because the life guard was life guarding) was not ideal. Oh well.
We ate lunch in our room. The room had an extra three feet between the end of the beds and the tables, and it was wonderful. We were able to spread out just a little bit more. We also tried to eat two meals in the room to save a bit of money and I thought it worked really well. Between a decently sized mini-fridge and a microwave you can do a lot. I brought a lot of paper stuff so we could just throw it away, but also some containers for left overs. I actually brought way too much food, but at the same time I'm not sure I'd bring any less.
After lunch we went to the outside waterpark for a bit. It was sunny out, so it was busy! We tried all the water slides, but only once or twice. We didn't do the big one from yesterday because the line was way too long. We then joined our friends at Tom Foolery's for a little bit. (Joshua did not enjoy this ride, but I did!
We went to a nearby restaurant for dinner and it was so fun! There were Lego sets (official sets and stuff they made) by the tables as decoration. And a train brought the food and drinks to your table! It was an excellent choice.
We went back to Tom Foolery's afterwards for a little bit. We played a few more games.
If I recall correctly, we also went back to the water park near closing. It wasn't super empty, but we rode a few rides and enjoyed the hot tub.
Joshua was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. (We had altered his bedtime back a bit the week before. He can usually handle staying up late on vacation, but we also needed him to sleep in. He did a great job.)
My favorite thing lately is hearing the kids laugh together. They've been playing a lot together yesterday and today and they kept laughing about something. <3
Today was Joshua's birthday and he was all about it. He patiently waited for gifts until after church, but was pretty done after that.
Isaac went on a wrapping spree one day and made him all sorts of presents, including one with four Lego eyes, one with one Lego 1x1 plate, and one with a rock.
Snacksalotl was a big hit from Nathan and Liz.
While a few of these are Isaac's, I don't dare look in his bed anymore; I'm not sure how there's room for him.
Back row: Snacksalotl, Gnome (Isaac), Sven, Pluto
Fourth row: Steve (Isaac), Creeper, Pickachu, ??, Glitch
Third row: Tiger, Giraffe (Isaac), Grey Bear, Elephant, Blue Bear
Second row: Catpachino, Square*
First row: Poke Ball, Otter, Spark**
Not pictured: Giraffe2, because he isn't allowed out of Joshua's bed so that Giraffe and Giraffe2 don't get mixed up
*I made Square, which is really a poor rectangle, one night when all the lovies with sateen were lost. It was a five minute project, because it was bed time. I'm still rather surprised it's still around.
**Spark was lost behind the printer for about five years. Lost, but not forgotten. There was great rejoicing by Joshua when he was found.
I made Joshua play outside for a little bit because he's been inside a lot this weekend. Then it started to rain. We decided to stay outside. Then it started to rain hard, so we hurriedly packed up.
This morning Isaac had a rock climbing competition in Grand Rapids. His coach said that Isaac should be in the beginner category. He flashed (completed on the first try) nine of the ten beginner routes and took three tries on the last one. The video below was the finish of the hard one; it is definitely better with sound.
Anyway, since that took less than half the time to do those routes, Isaac started to do the intermediate routes. These were the routes that he had the most fun with. There was one that everyone has falling off of on the third hold (left foot in picture below). Then one person figured it out and apparently there was a foot twist that Isaac needed to do. A few tries later, he got it!
Then there was about 30 seconds left, but if you were on the wall you could finish your attempt. Isaac started a pink one that he had gotten half way up earlier. Time was called when he was about half way up and he went on to finish it! It was a great way to end the morning.
Later, we got this fun text:
We had discussed the possibility of this happening, but decided the drive would be too much for just standing on a podium. Also, we didn't get the text until 3:55pm, which would make the 4pm arrival rather hard.
In completely different news, I solved the Mini NYT crossword puzzle in a record time! I think my previous record was 35 seconds and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to go much faster than 17 seconds.
We went blueberry picking with Aunt C this morning. The picking was fine. I somewhat bribed them with ice cream because they weren't very excited about it. Isaac shared his with me, so that was nice.
Ben had found a new computer for Aunt C too, so we got that started after picking. I went over in the afternoon to finish getting stuff setup. I think it went well! The internet connected well, the printer connected after I turned it on, and we got the bookmarks set up.
We're home. I was supposed to be all productive and stuff today but instead went to a playground with friends and took and nap and went rock climbing with Isaac.
It was a very nice day, even if the big chores were ignored.
We stayed in a hotel last night so the trip today wasn't too long. While the breakfast was delicious, the walls were thin and there was a team staying there that wasn't very quiet. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well. However, we did all bring our pillows because the pillows at hotels are always the wrong size and uncomfortable.
We got to the water park without any problems. We knew it from wouldn't be ready for us quite yet, but we could still use the park. We only went on about 2/3 of the rides, but they were fun! The lines weren't bad at all, so we often found ourselves doing one ride multiple times. I guess the worst part is that the background noise is really loud, so I couldn't hear anything that people were trying to say.
The guys did the FlowRider. I have some good videos, but only have pictures of Isaac's and Joshua.
We briefly went to Tom Foolerys too. They have some little attractions and an arcade. Isaac enjoyed the climbing wall... First it took him a minute, the next round 40 sec, and then 28 sec. Then he climbing it without using any of the holds, because, obviously.
We're also meeting some friends here for several of the days, so that has been really nice too
Thursday was a fun day! We went to a park with some friends in the morning and introduced some other friends to rock climbing in the afternoon. Joshua and his friend loved climbing the trees.
Friday was on the boring side. The only plans included groceries and packing. I should have made some plans too, because everyone was a bit bored by the end of the day. Hmm, I guess it didn't help that Ben worked a little bit late too. Everyone survived.
We didn't have huge plans today. Grocery store and a friend of Joshua's over in the afternoon. I decided not to go to the grocery store because I didn't have many groceries and needed to talk with the family about vacation groceries.
Joshua and his friend climbed the mulberry tree for the first time. They were climbing all the trees. After the friend left Joshua decided to read in the tree.
Isaac was working on his walls and decided to take down a black balloon. It's been up there since his black phase. Isaac, of course, doesn't remember his black phase and found it quite funny. A lot of things have been tickling his funny bone the last few days and it's nice.
I was supposed to start the packing list for vacation today, but instead I ...didn't. So I guess it's a recovery day after the fun stuff lately. I'll get to the list tomorrow. Not in time for groceries, but I can always go quickly pick up what we need.
Isaac is hanging out with Cheryl tonight but forgot Giraffe. I told him we'd take good care of Giraffe.
Today was the birthday party with the Grandparents, but there were several things to do first.
We picked blueberries for the party. It was the best blueberry picking I've ever had. The berries were big and plentiful. Isaac picked more than I did! We got 2.5 buckets in 30 minutes.
We picked up the desserts: Crumbl Cookies for Joshua and an ice cream cake for Isaac. Turns out, if you go on Monday you get twice the options at Crumbl because they're finishing up last week's options too.
Then we cleaned a bit. Joshua had started a little cleaning before I woke up, but everyone put in a good 30 minutes. Joshua and I were hungry, so we had lunch on the early side.
After nap time/screen time I felt on top of life. I did a little more cleaning, but also finished the globe puzzle. This puzzle summer has been interesting: the kids are happy to help at the beginning and end, but not in the middle (or for hard parts). That's ok. I'll take what I can get. Anyway, I stuck my hand in the globe to help put in some pieces and Joshua found it really funny.
Since we were on top of life and, Joshua especially, had helped so much without being asked, I let Joshua do a baking powder volcano that he's been asking about. I originally told him Tuesday, but he was happy to do it today. The day of the party can be hard because you can't make a mess and you're just waiting. He did most of the prep and clean up by himself, so it was a win for everyone.
Finally! Party time. The cats were being rather territorial over this box.
Joshua got several 10s. Some candy, keychains, and $1 coins for his 10th birthday.
Ben and I got each kid some assorted Lego and a UV flashlight. Several of the Legos glowed under the light, but the light was a hit overall! They were bringing it all over the house to see what would react and there were some weird discoveries. (Like one leg of a minifigure glowing and not the other).
(The kids don't love having the same birthday party, but it can be hard getting everyone together in the summer. The only reason they 'allow' it is because they can each have their own birthday dessert.)
Dad and Pat took the boys up to the cottage this weekend and they had a great time.
Ben and I spent the weekend at a B&B in Grandville. Sure, it's not very far away, but if we stay at home I tend to putz around with chores. I usually relax plenty too, but it's a different mindset when I'm away from home.
The B&B (PraireSide Inn, or something like that) was lovely. There were lots of thoughtful touches that made the place especially lovely. The only downside(s) were that our breakfasts, brought to us in our rooms, were on the smaller side. It was probably the right portion size, but I was hoping for a slightly larger breakfast.
We did a lot of reading. Our room was especially cold the first evening we got there, so we went out by the mini pool. The hydrangeas smelled amazing.
Saturday we finally made it to Bricks and Minifigs in Grand Rapids. It was a great store! As expected, there was a pick-a-brick table and we probably spent at least an hour looking through the pieces finding good ones. The thrill of the hunt was so fun! I went around the table about three times, and on the third time I was still finding cool pieces that I had missed earlier.
We had Indian buffet for lunch. We don't have it very often because there isn't one in Holland and it's a bit on the spicy side for me. But we both found items that we enjoyed and tried several new things too.
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