Vacation Day 2: people hang out

Upon starting vacation day 2, we thought we might pick some strawberries.  That plan quickly fizzled as 1) the place was closed on Sundays and 2) they were almost picked out Friday morning.  So we just had an easy day around the house instead.

We went to the beach by our house.  Several kids worked really hard to build a trench.  You put water in at the top and then it goes down.  I think it was a pretty standard trench by all accounts, but they enjoyed it.

We got the boats out.  Some of the kids loved the boats and some took one ride and were done. Isaac swam pretty far out into the water; farther than he's gone before and was rather thrilled by it.

While lunch was being prepared, Isaac started giving out his name tags.  Most people were very gracious about getting them.  Doug's didn't fit and so was just on his head like a crown.  Isaac proceeded to spend about two minutes slowly inching it down.  Doug just continued talking the whole time.

Mine didn't fit.  It wasn't even close to fitting.  After Isaac came to the same conclusion I got a new one.

After lunch some of the kids had a nap.  I started making a quilt with one of the girls.  It was a simple patchwork, but got all the steps of a quilt.

After nap and rest time, it was time for a few more boat rides.

Ben went out for the first time.  He said it was ok, not great.  I feel like as though I look strong in the picture.

Then just some play time.  Isaac loved a game that one family brought with them, Outfoxed.  So much so that he got it later in the week as a host present. :)

I started quilting with help.  This was the first time I've had a child on the quilter with me, but it went very well.

In the evening we were about ready to go to Tunnel Park and quickly changed our minds as a thunderstorm was fast approaching.  So it was more random stuff for the rest of the night...

Joshua cornered Ryan to show him about Mr. Potato Head.

There was some crazy game of chase/catch/tornado going on.  (And we felt the rain in the middle.)  The adults looked at each other a few times wondering if we should put a stop to it, but we waited.  There were some tears from Joshua at one point, but he got down off my lap so fast that the game hadn't been stopped yet.  No one got hurt and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

A few kids got put into the air.  Because, why not?

At the end of the day Isaac and I learned a new game.  The game hadn't been played with four people before, and it didn't work well with four.  The board killed us several times, but we kept going because we wanted to see what is supposed to happen.  Isaac said he didn't really enjoy it because it was too long, but when just the two of us played it later it was better.

The last two people also showed up late, late that night, so then we were all there!

Friday: activities

I didn't have a plan for today, so I asked the boys what they wanted to do this morning.

Isaac: blueberry picking!
Amanda: It's not quite time yet.  Soon.
Isaac: ...it's a bit expensive...but..the bounce house place?
Amanda: I had thought of that, but the best time for us are Mondays or Wednesdays.
Isaac: a new playground?
Amanda: yeah, we can probably do a new playground.

We also hit several garage sales (finding just two small things).  Then we went to Donutville because we were sort of in the area.  While we were having donuts, Joshua said, "Let's go see Grandpa!"  And so we did.

After rest time, the boys were on my lap and we were making a birthday wish list for Joshua.  I sadly didn't have a lot of ideas that I had stored away.  Anyway, we were going along and I went to the main page of Amazon, which had a moon on it.

Joshua, excitedly: A moon!
Amanda: You want a moon for your birthday?
Joshua: Yeah!!
Amanda: I don't think you'll be getting a moon.

We also had our Small Group over for dinner.  We got to the lake and the kids had a good time playing and many of the adults tried the paddle board.

Thursday: hmmm

Today didn't really work for me, again.  Oh well.  I'm not really sure why it didn't work...the boys were mostly good.  Maybe it was that I was trying to get work done and it was harder to do it without interruptions than I had hoped.

Anyway, Isaac started one of his birthday puzzles.  Joshua helped a bit, but it was mostly Isaac.  It's a bigger puzzle than he's done in the past, and I wanted to see how it would go.  Although he didn't finish it all, I think it was more that there were other things to do than he was having trouble.  Joshua is enjoying a sea puzzle, and has now put it together about five times in the last two days.

After dinner we went to Mr. Tom's beach, by our house.  For about twenty minutes Joshua would go in the water, get a can full of water, and then sprinkle the pizza he was making.  Each round took about five seconds...it made me a bit dizzy.  But he didn't seem to get bored!

Vacation Day 1: people arrive

For a week or two before our guests arrived Isaac had it in his head that he wanted to make name tags for everyone.  I was kind of hoping that he'd forget about the project, but he persevered.  He finished them up, minus names, just before the first guests arrived.

He made himself a green one with a star, since he had done all the work making them.

Joshua also showed off his sleeping closet for the next week.  It worked very well.  There was already plenty of stuff in our room (ahem, clean laundry that wasn't put away) and so it gave us a bit more room.

The first family got in late morning.  We just hung out, took a few walks, and napped until the other two families arrived right around dinner time.  By the time dinner was done it was more or less time for the kids to go to bed.  The adults talked for a while after that, but we all went to bed at an almost reasonable time.

Wednesday: story time

Story time was quite hilarious again today.  I like the new leader.  All the kids got to hold a puppet (and somehow there was enough for everyone that wanted one.)  So Joshua was moving this mouse all around and Puppy Dog had a dog and it was fun to watch.  The theme today was Scotland, so he kept dropping into a Scottish brogue.

We also had thunderstorms this morning!  And Aunt C came over to spend a few hours with the boys.  It helped me get caught up with grading (since I slacked last week) and get things around the house a bit more figured out.  Two medium sized boxes of toys are destined for donation, along with a few of the larger ones.  I didn't mark all the small kid things for giving away, but there are still some that I have my eyes on.

Tuesday: misc

Joshua made a rocket this morning.  It has a lunar lander inside of it.

I froze two containers of pulled pork.  The labels on the two lids I pulled out already said pulled pork.  Score!

Monday: no more vacation

Today was the first real day of no vacation.  I'll be honest, it felt a bit rough.  I think it is somewhat because I have a lot on my to-do list again and I was a bit tired.

Anyway, we did make it to a library event about owls.  I think Isaac enjoyed it, but Joshua got bored half way through and just played under my chair for the rest of it.

The boys went up to feel some thing individually, but ended up next to each other as they were waiting.  I like how Isaac's arm went around Joshua's.

Sunday: upstairs church

Joshua moved from nursery to upstairs church (3&4yrs) today.  I know it's a bit early, but I got an email last week that summer might be a good time to move him up.  Isaac said that he'd be fine with Joshua joining him and Joshua wanted to go.  They both had a good time.

Joshua was also very excited to see the "big" bed in his room.  He looks so small in it.

Isaac wanted to sleep in the closet tonight.  He called the closet his hideout.  Guess he enjoyed it. :)

Saturday: gone

The last of our guests left tonight.  It was a really good vacation and it was sad to see them go.  Isaac also asked if we could do it again sometime, so I think both boys enjoyed it too.

I'll try to do a recap here soon.  I think I have several things to catch up on.  I'm pretending that I'll have more time now that I don't have to get ready for this vacation, but I'm not really sure why I think that.  There are still several things to get back to normal, several things that I've wanted to do for a while and have been holding off on, and then the normal things.

There was one thing I would have changed about the vacation though; I would not have put Flurry's water fountain in our master bathroom.  I moved it (and her food) so that she would be able to eat without braving the possible chaos.  However, it made me think that the faucets were running or the toilet was running all the time.  I apparently sleepily asked Ben several times if the toilet had actually stopped flushing when he came to bed.

Isaac and Joshua have moved out of their sleeping closets (which worked very well) and are having a sleep over tonight in Isaac's room before Joshua's bed gets moved to his room tomorrow.

Tuesday: happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!  We have friends over and I've been having too much fun to post.  There will be a summary post later.

However, today we went to Dutch Village (twice) and had some backyard fireworks.  Most people went to see the city fireworks, but Joshua and I stayed here.

Friday: end of the week

It's the end of a crazy week.  We're about to start another one, that I think will be crazy in a different and better way.

It was the last day of swimming lessons.  Isaac did fine.  He didn't progress as much as I had hoped, but maybe part of that is just that we're not in a pool all that much.  His sunglass goggles helped a bit and he wasn't quite as adverse to going under water as last year.  He also wears his goggles in the shower.

Joshua refused to get in.  The poor guy didn't get as much sleep as normal this week and is giving up naps and I think it was just a bit too much.  I counted calmly to 10 and then handed him in.  Once he was in he did ok.  He wasn't in the mood for everything but somewhat participated.

After a quick lunch it was cleaning time.  I have a lot of things crossed out on my list now; just a few things left for tomorrow morning.  Joshua didn't really participate, but also didn't deter.  He just played with Duplos.  And took a nap.

We had some problems getting the mower started tonight. :p  We finally got it though and I finished up the lawn.

Thursday: groceries

Today was grocery day.  A bunch of people are coming to our house next week, so I decided to bite the bullet and go to multiple grocery stores.  Usually I go to one per week.  If it is a week with mostly basic stuff, I go to Aldi.  If it has additional odd stuff, I go to Meijer.  Aldi is cheaper and much faster.  Meijer has more selection and donuts.  Anyway.  I called in reinforcements (Aunt C) because I was not going to go grocery shopping with two kids to three stores.  They all had a good time playing together and I finished all the grocery shopping in a little bit longer than a normal/large week.

It seems as though we now have enough food for an army, but my guess is that we'll have a lot of some things left over and need to go to the store for a few additional items.  It's hard to estimate how much food is needed.  I tried to get only things that we will eat after everyone leaves and that can last a while or be frozen.

Ok.  I have a grocery store rant though.  I've had this rant for a while and think about it every time I'm buying 12 packs of pop.  I usually plan on putting it on the blog, but then something more interesting happens and I forget.

Why are the boxes stacked on their sides so that I can't put my hand in the shelf, pop down the thingies to make the handle, and easily pull the box out of the shelf?  If it was stacked that way, I could get two at a time.  But they are stacked on their sides, so it takes me two hands to get one box and it's awkward to maneuver.  I just don't understand.

Joshua: 34 & 35 months

Joshua turned 35 months today.  I didn't do a 34 month update, but I did take pictures so I'll post the best of those today too.

(34 months)

colors:  he knows his colors, although orange and yellow sometimes get mixed up.  His favorite color is green

Numbers: I heard him count to 20 today, missing a few in the teens.

Alphabet: he can say many letters and sings some of the ABCs, but can't identify many letters.  We were talking about J and he remembered Joshua Jellyfish from school.

(35 months)

Dressing: he's getting better at dressing and undressing, but he still likes help or at least to be near Ben or me.  He's also much better about getting his sandals on, although shoes are still a bit hard.  He freaks out if one of the velcro straps comes undone.

Sleeping: Although he sleeps well at night (8pm-7am), he is in the process of quickly giving up naps.  He naps maybe once every three or four days.  It has made for a very tired boy some evenings.

Playing: The kid loves to play.  He makes things out of Duplos - birthday cakes, robots, port-a-potties.  I've eaten a lot of cake lately.  He's been enjoying playing with marbles and his science beakers.  He likes books.  He likes being a puppy dog and tells people that is what is name is.  He really likes to play with Isaac.  They have played together a ton the last few weeks.  There has been so much laughter (most of the time).  There is also a lot of running and roaring.

Eating: he still rarely eats his vegetables, but at least it is rarely instead of never now.  Treats after a meal are slowly starting to work better.  He love banana bread and donuts.

Screen time: he likes "playing" MarioKart with Ben and watching shows.  Paw Patrol is near the top, with Inspector Gadget as a new favorite.

Tuesday: port-a-potty

Amanda: I'm done grading!
Joshua: Now you can work on your port-a-potty!  I brought you all the pieces.

Ben, via e-mail: looks like it might be life-sized.


Today also included building the Eiffel Tower by Isaac.  (And knocking it down.)

And swimming lessons.  Joshua kept talking about Miss Annie, who is really Miss Anna and so it took me a while to figure out what was going on.

There was a new teacher today..
NT: what's your name?
Joshua quietly says something.
NT: Puppy Dog?  Did he say puppy dog? (looking at me questioningly.)
A: Probably.
Old teacher: that's what he told me yesterday too.
Nearby mother: my son did the same thing and didn't grow out of it until he was seven.

Monday: blah

Today was not one of our awesome days.

It started out fine...a little extra driving for an errand and then swimming lessons.  The day was cold (an expected high of 63 or so), but the pool heater was turned on and no one was shivering.  Isaac said he liked these better than the ones last year, although he missed the free time from last year.  Both boys had lessons, each a half hour long.  I like the half hour lesson.  Just when I'm ready to be done it is almost time for the lesson to be done too.

We made a quick Meijer run and got home.  The carpet cleaner was coming!

Joshua did not enjoy the carpet cleaner.  It was noisy.  Isaac asked a lot of questions though.  But our play space was limited and it was cold outside and Joshua was clingy and I was tired.  Argh.  We finally made it through, and the boys had their screen time and I had my nap.  It didn't help as much as normal though.

We had an hour before we had to leave for dinner.  I had two ripe bananas, so we decided to make banana bread.  However, I had no eggs.  Last grocery shopping trip I had two egg containers.  Well, one container had three eggs and one container had one egg and we used them all up.  (Luckily, there was a small grocers next to the restaurant, but it was still one more thing.)  While Isaac had been pretty good throughout the day, he often asked something and I'd give him an answer he didn't like.  So he'd ask again.  And again a bit later.  Most days I might not have noticed it, but today it drove me up the wall.

The boys did make a fort tonight and played, but they didn't seem to be having as much fun as last night.  I gave them a 10 minute warning earlier (although still way after their normal bedtime) and they said they were ready for bed then.

Sunday: carpets

Tomorrow the carpet cleaner is coming.  This means that a lot of furniture has been moved.

The basement is once again an ideal place for running.
Isaac was sleeping on his bed in the living room, and Joshua wanted to do the same.

As Ben was coming downstairs he heard Isaac tells Joshua, "we can talk!"  We went up a few times to make sure that everyone was still happy (i.e., no one was trying to go to sleep), but we heard tons of giggles and laughter.  At one point they had opened Isaac's special drawer and were playing with all the toys in it.  Usually there is a "no toys in bed" policy, but it turns out I just didn't care today.  They were having fun with each other and that is something I want to encourage, even if it is breaking the rules and way past bedtime.  At 10pm, two hours after bedtime, I did tell them it was time to go to sleep; I need them to be functional in the morning.

However, there was talk of a blanket over the beds for tomorrow night.  I think that sounds like a lot of fun and will probably let them do it. :)

Saturday: Herrickfest

The other day someone asked me what I did in the summer.  I mentioned a few things, including that the library has a ton of stuff to do.  I realized how true that is this week: Wednesday was storytime, Thursday was Bubbleman, Friday was Sensory Time at a different library, and today was a party put on by the library.  A bunch of the local associations come with fun (and free!) things for kids to do.

It was a bit cool...by the end of the second hour Joshua was very cold and ready to go home, although I expect the Popsicle didn't help any.  It was a ton of fun though; we'll have to go again next year.

It started with a tractor ride.  It was relatively long, and the tractor went in some tight circles.  Isaac wanted a green barrel.

We got looked at some rocks.  We took apart (and put together, somewhat) a keyboard.  Joshua slowly but surely plugged away at the number keys.  (Joshua also mentioned tonight that we shouldn't take apart our play keyboards.)

We did a photobooth and the pictures came out ok.  Then some fishing.

Then I gave in and let them have their treat.  I should have waited until we were a bit more ready to go, as it was the beginning of the end.  Oh well.  The boys were really looking forward to the treat.

This evening I finally got a picture of them in their puppy pajamas.  The pajamas are new and are a hit!

Friday: lunch sounds

Today was the last lunch in the fort; it stayed up longer than I really wanted it to, but it provided so much entertainment.

Here are the sounds from lunch today.  The video is nothing...it's really just for the audio.   It was like this the whole time.

Thursday: Biking, bubbles, and banners

We rode our bikes around the lake today.  It was a short ride, as they go, but I changed Isaac's training wheels from a little wobbly to very wobbly.  At first I was 'afraid' that he wouldn't really feel the difference, but about 1/3 of the way around he had a good balance.  It was probably only a second or two, but enough that we both realized it.  I was glad because now he at least knows what is good balancing.  (It turns out training wheels are loud.  It is a great thing, because then you know if you're balancing.  I never realized that about them before.)

We went to a bubble program through the library.  We saw a square bubble. (Link.  See bubble wonders library life interview, 1:19).  At story time yesterday it was mentioned that someone would get to be in a bubble, and Isaac mentioned several times that he wanted to be in a bubble.  He sat near the front but was not chosen.  I told him at the end if he was patient he could ask the presenter when most of the people had left, although the presenter might say no.  Well, Isaac was able to get in a bubble.


Joshua did it too.

It was a noisy afternoon and evening.  The boys played together a lot, but that also meant there was a bit more bickering than normal this afternoon.  They were also loud.  It got on my nerves, but I think that was more my problem than theirs.  They were playing some chase game in the evening that they were loving and they were happy and entertained, but I was also very glad to put them to bed.

Here are the banners.  They're really streamers, but the alliteration in the title was nice.  Isaac wanted to do this last summer and I finally got around to it.  Joshua said that they tickled.