Vacation day 1: Legoland

On Wednesday we went to LegoLand in Auburn Hills.  This was a great choice for our family - we stayed from 10am-6pm and really could have probably stayed a bit longer. 

The first ride is something like 'Kingdom Adventure', but, as with most games, it got renamed to 'Baby Dragon'.  Joshua was scared the first time on it, but semi-willingly went on it a second time when Isaac was excited about it.  After that it was a breeze; we visited it several times throughout the day to save the baby dragon.

The next thing is a Miniworld of Detroit.  It had fun buttons to push and a search and find, so the boys stayed in there longer than I expected.

Then on to the main room, which at first glance didn't look very large.  At second glance it wasn't very large either, but they packed things in.  Isaac and I started with the second ride, while Ben and Joshua made a fast race car and seahorses.

We did the master builder course next, which was again just someone walking you through how to put a set together...and not even taught by the resident master builder.  We had a bit of time at the beginning, so we made things out of blue pieces.  There were also a bunch of lovely pieces in the room.  I think I'd be quite happy decorating the house with such decor...

There were 4 4D movies to watch too.  Joshua was a bit scared with all of them, but held it together through the first one and wanted to go to the others.  Joshua and I probably could have skipped getting wet; it added to the scariness for him and made me cold.  However, the movies were fun.

The kids also loved the playground area.  It was rather nice because they could play a bit and then we would do something else and they would play a bit and we would do something else.  It was rather busy in the early afternoon, but by late afternoon it had cleared out.  Some other kids had moved all the giant lego bricks up to one of the high spots and Isaac and Joshua and another kid spent about an hour...doing something.

We got some more Legos at the end and went on to the next hotel.  The boys took naps in the car so they could play Legos when we got to the hotel.

Overall, it was a lovely day.  The boys, especially Joshua, loved having Ben around and was sure to let him know it...it was super cute.  Both of them want to go back again too.

Friday: two tired boys

We got home from our small vacation today, and we have two tired boys.

I about to read to them at bed time and Joshua didn't have any water in his cup.  The normal routine is to fill it after reading so that he can hide under his covers, so not having any isn't that much of a surprise.  He bursts out crying, "is anyone going to fill my water bottle???"

Isaac had a hard time getting to sleep due to a nap, so I let him stay up a bit later.  He was playing in his room with a ThinkFun game.  (They do a lot of the single player logic puzzles that Isaac likes.)  He comes downstairs crying after a little bit..."I read 'ThinkFun' and I [didn't want to]."  I'm not sure exactly what he said as it was rather difficult to understand.  I'm still a bit confused as to why this would have been a problem...

Wednesday: Lego

We went to Meijer today to see who exactly was the crazy drivers...me or the boys.  Turns out, we're all good drivers!  Ben must be the crazy one.

Then we went to a mall with a Lego store. This mall also had escalators, and that is what the boys seemed most excited about.  We did that before going to the Lego store.

We took some pictures at the Lego store and all filled up a bucket from the pick a brick wall.

We got to the hotel and let the boys stay up past their bedtime to play with them a bit.

Tuesday: mattress/cleaning

Today was a semi-relaxed day.  We played and did some work in the morning as we were waiting for someone to pick up an old mattress.  I didn't have a pick-up time, which was a bit annoying.  Anyway, around 11 I was done with waiting so we slide the mattress outside and made a quick trip to Lowe's.

Both boys still fit in the race car carts, and they had a grand time.  I kept telling them they were terrible drivers as the cart swerved this way and that way.  They insisted I was a terrible driver, and the game kept going all day.

We had our new house cleaners today.  It went well.  It was a bit slow, but there is so much to learn the first several times that I was expecting that.  I finished a few quick things after they left and tada!  The main area looked wonderful.

During this time Isaac and Joshua were supposed to clean their rooms.  However, Joshua had other plans.  He cleaned his room during rest time and was all done by the time the house cleaners arrived.  Ha!  I bet that isn't what you were expecting.  It isn't what I was expecting either.

Joshua had his quilt pictures taken today.  Google is rolling out a new thing called color pop, which I rather like.  Oh, I just noticed that there is a bit of color under his arms on the quilt.  But it is still rather fun.

Monday: zoo

The boys and I, along with Dad, went to the zoo today.  The first time we stopped at the bear enclosure it wasn't moving at all, but it started moving while we were next door, so we headed back.

Grey Bear had been in the backpack, but came out to see the bear.  (We stopped by again at the very end, and the bear was pacing right next to the glass.  Joshua and Grey Bear jumped every time it got close.)

We visited a lot of animals.  Isaac could have stayed at most of the exhibits longer, while Joshua was ready to go pretty quickly after spotting the animal.  They both did a good job of leaving or waiting as requested though.

We stopped for some playing at the natural playground and Isaac started pulling the wood around and said he was going to make a lever.  He then told us the parts of a lever and identified them for us...science camp taught him something!

After the zoo the boys had a Klondike Bar at Dad and Pat's for lunch.  I hadn't really be expecting the zoo to take quite so long, hence the ice cream for lunch.  They then invited us to stay for rest time, so the boys got to play with some 'new' toys while I took a nap on a nearby bed.

Joshua and I played Duplos for a little bit, and he gave me a bunch of pieces and told me to make a statue in the middle of the house.  Then he told me it should be a statue of a seagull.  I finished it and he made a few tweaks to make it just right.  Needless to say, I don't think that building seagulls out of Dulpos is my strong suit.

Sunday: class is done

My summer class finished on Friday.  As always, there were some interesting quirks to the class.  However, the most notable this semester was that everyone turned in their work on time or early.  This made the last week of grading quite easy and I even got to submit my grades on Friday.

Now I have a few weeks off before thinking about next semester.  I have most of the prep work (that I need to do) done, so it shouldn't take me more than a couple of hours.

Saturday: birthday

Today was Joshua's fourth birthday.  While he still seems young because he's the younger sibling, when I actually look at what he's doing I notice how 'old' he's actually getting.

His birthday party isn't for a week yet, so we gave him his birthday present today.  He got the Police Legos.  While very similar to the Firefighter Legos, this one has bad guys.  They have already captured his imagination.  He's suddenly gotten very good at putting sets together.  He still likes us to find the pieces for him, but beyond that needs minimal help.

We just ran out of blueberries, so we went to pick some more this morning.  The boys weren't really thrilled about it, so we bribed them by saying we'd get a birthday treat afterwards.

They also got to play on the playground for a bit.

It was a good day, but I'll admit by the time dinner was finished I had heard, "Mom! [Pay attention to this.]" a few too many times.  I'm glad my children want to talk to me, but they wouldn't stop talking!

Friday: conversations

Joshua: do we get to see Grandpa again? 
Amanda: no, two times is enough for today.
Joshua: two times isn't enough!!

Joshua, to Grandpa Paul: Will you bring Grandma Pat to my birthday?
Grandpa Paul: of course.
Joshua: Grandma Pat will make my birthday special.

Thursday: around downtown

While Isaac was at science camp Joshua and I stayed around the Hope/downtown area.  It started with a trip to see Grandpa, as normal this week.  Joshua did a good job of talking a bit before asking for a treat.

We walked around a bit and took pictures of my latest quilt.  It was cool, so the quilt got a trial testing with Joshua.

Our eventual destination was the library, because they were doing a 'Dragons Love Tacos' theme.  Joshua brought his dragon.

Here they are!  With a taco!  We had tacos tonight since...it seemed appropriate.

Next we went back across campus to the art gallery.  It actually went a bit better than I had expected...and I wasn't expecting much.  Joshua liked the speaker with sprinkles on it the best.  He also liked the sculptures and how they changed as you walked around them.  He even suggested walking around one or two, so I'll note the excursion as a win.

Since we had about thirty minutes before needing to pick up Isaac, we made a quick trip to the candy store.  Joshua picked out some chocolates.  We had several, but he wanted to make sure that we saved some for Ben and Isaac (but especially for Ben.)

Wednesday: growing up and fish

Amanda: Joshua, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Joshua: a grown-up
Amanda: That's wise.  Very wise.
******
After science camp today we visited the 'zoo' at Hope College.  The first fifteen minutes were rather full, but then most of the people left and it calmed down.  We were looking at some skulls and I thought one was a shark, but wasn't quite sure.  I encouraged Isaac to ask one of the helpers, but he declined.  Joshua asked!  Joshua went up to him, brought him over, and asked the question.  I think it's the first time that he has taken the initiative and asked a question [of a stranger] instead of having me ask.  We ended up asking all sorts of questions...even leaving a few times, looking at the aquarium outside the room, and then coming back in to ask a question.  Isaac persuaded him to feed the goldfish and the boys got such a laugh out of it!  It was apparently the silliest thing in the world.

Tuesday: more or less normal day

Today was a more or less normal day.  Isaac had science camp and made a catapult and worked with wheels and axles.  It was his favorite part of the day.  He also had ice skating today and managed to do more than three 'steps' in a row.  It's nice to see him improve.

Joshua and I didn't have anything all that special through the day.  We took a walk around Hope and I was surprised, as normal, with some of the new things that I saw.  We came home to work on his loft, play Duplos, and get a few other things done.

Monday: punching triangles

This morning Isaac started his science camp.  This year the his theme is simple machines and Legos, but he keeps calling it chemistry camp because that's what he did last year.  Today he learned that triangles are the strongest shapes.

During this time Joshua and I did several errands and Joshua had an extra gymnastics class.  They did a dinosaur dance as a warm up and it really stuck with him as he mentioned it several times.  We took a quick stop back at home because I had forgotten a book that needed to be returned to the library.  I quickly got out to get it and when I returned to the car the first thing Joshua said to me was, "I'm going to punch you in the stomach." 

"What??  Why?" I replied, surprised.  "That's not really nice at all and you shouldn't be saying things like that."

"Well, just if you do something bad I'll punch you in the stomach."

"No, I don't want you to do it even if I do something bad."

...I still don't know what prompted such a statement.

Friday: fruits

Today we went blueberry picking with Aunt C.  The weather was perfect!!  Warm but not too warm, with scattered clouds.  Not too windy, although there were a few gusts to make you appreciate that most of the time the blueberries stayed in your hand as you picked them.  We ended up with one bucket full.  The boys picked some, ran some, and ate some...they really just wanted to go to the playground.  Since it wasn't too hot this time, we stayed at the playground for quite a while.

After coming home, I picked our first raspberry crop.  When I looked a day or two ago there were only one or two worth picking, so I left them as I was hoping for three.  This time there were a bunch!

Isaac also played with wet socks again.  Not quite as long this time, but it was still...odd.

We finally got a little rain today, although I think everyone was hoping for a bit more.  Hopefully tomorrow.  Isaac also got all weepy on us when we told him that he didn't have to eat his four dinosaur chicken nuggets, but that he then wouldn't get a treat.  (He had originally only asked for two or three, and so didn't feel as though he should have to eat the last ones to get his treat.)  Afterwards I tried to tell him that many kids need to eat everything on their plate and that they have to sit there until they eat it...so our rule wasn't as harsh as he was making it out to be.  I'm not sure it worked.

Thursday: skip-bo, helicopters, and pool

Yesterday and today Isaac has wanted to play SkipBo while Joshua has wanted to build a Lego helicopter.  It turns out that I can do both of them at the same time relatively well.  When it's Isaac's turn to play I find pieces for Joshua, who can put them on pretty much by himself.  Then I play my turn in SkipBo.  Sure, it isn't focused time for either boy, but it has worked.

We went to a pool with family today.  At least, we did until they closed the pool due to contamination.  So we went to get ice cream instead, which I had been thinking sounded great even before it was mentioned. :D

Wednesday: activities

We started out the day with gymnastics.  On the way out Joshua told me, "I love gymnastics 100%!"  He stumbled a bit over the 100% part, but got it.  I was rather amused to hear that phrasing come out of his mouth.

A bit later we went to help at Kids' Food Basket.  Isaac has wanted to go for a while, but it doesn't work so well with him at school.  There was a different leader there today, which felt a bit awkward for me since Joshua was there and not technically allowed.  The previous leader said it was fine, but...  Anyway, they ended up with more helpers than they needed, and so we got reassigned to a different job and it was perfect.  We opened up boxes of stuff (applesauce, granola bars) and put them in milk crates for use when packing lunches.  It took us a lot longer than I could have done it myself, but that isn't really the point.

Later in the afternoon we went to the library for an animal program.  Joshua fell asleep immediately...I'm not sure he even got through the introductory remarks.  I keep wondering if it's the last time he'll fall asleep on my lap, and he keeps doing it again.  The snuggles are nice.  Isaac got to hold a snake and stood by a barn owl.

Tuesday: playground

We met some friends at the playground this morning.  It was wonderful.  Four of the five boys ran as a group doing...I'm not really sure.  Joshua said something about catapults at one point.  But the cool thing is that they did it together.  (Oh, the fifth one is rather young so it wasn't a big deal.  He's probably about 1.5 years younger than Joshua, which is about the spread for the others too.)

Monday: playdate

This morning was a bit rough.  Isaac was in a mood and refused to go to the library.  I told him 'too bad, you have to go.  Please get dressed.'  He said he wouldn't get dressed.  I told him that was fine, but that there would be consequences...like he would have to take a nap during rest time.  (He really did seem so tired and I think it's been a busy week for him.)  Anyway, he got dressed.  He continued to be sullen until Joshua fell on the pavement and big brother mode kicked in. :D  That snapped him out of it.

He also had a playdate with one of his friends from school.  They played 'CodeMasters' for an hour and a half, running all over the place, getting cards, leveling up, and slaying dragons with rainbow swords.

Weekend: vacations

This weekend, Isaac and Joshua went up north with Larry and Cheryl.

They had a grand time playing with the magnet blocks, in the splash pad, and eating ice cream.

Oh, and plenty of screen time. :D

Ben and I went to a B&B in South Haven.  After mentioning (twice!) that we needed to remember and get some pictures at the B&B, we forgot.  We only got some at the end of the pier.

We had a wonderful time though, eating, reading, playing games, and just being together.

Wednesday/Thursday: briefly

VBS: It went well, especially today (Thursday).  The kids and I are getting to know each other a bit better, and that has helped.

It's fun seeing Isaac here and there.

The four year old classes got a sneak reveal of Bolt Voltage, and it totally calmed Joshua down.  It went from all he could talk about to, "oh, it's just Tyler with an orange shirt."  (He wears an orange shirt in another part of the morning.)  While sad that it needed to be done early, it was probably a good choice.

Yesterday we went to the GR public museum.  We did it with a friend whom I haven't seen in a while.  It was maybe not the best place to talk because the boys needed a lot of help with stuff, but it was still lovely to see them.

Tuesday: VBS, tired

Today was the second day of VBS.  It went better than the first, as expected.  

Joshua wouldn't stop talking about Bolt Voltage again.  As he told Ben, ""It's really not safe at church right now. The criminal is ruining VBS."  The stories he told seemed to get more elaborate as the afternoon went on.  Also, the puppet set a trap by the bathrooms for Bolt Voltage and didn't capture BV but instead captured the raccoon (costume).  Joshua's take away was this: "This was a trap by the stop sign bathroom but it didn't capture the criminal.  It captured the hedgehog's brother.  [The puppet] needs to save him!"  Obviously it couldn't have been the raccoon that was on stage because he was on stage, so it had to be the brother.

Isaac started ice skating lessons again.  He picked up about where he left off, so that's good.  There were also twice as many teachers and about half the students, which I was very excited to see.

Monday: VBS and swimming

Today was the first day of VBS.  I have third graders this year, instead of my normal forth or fifth graders.  I can tell they're a bit younger, but some of that could just be personality too.  The fun thing about being with this group is that I also get to see Isaac for a few of the group things.  He was sitting right in front of me for one and it took me about five minutes to notice.  As always, I didn't feel like a great leader.  But since this happens every year, I'm rolling with it.

This year there is a bad guy called "Bolt Voltage."  And oh my, the kids loved him.  He would run through areas really fast and the kids would all be like, "there he is!  Get a picture for [the puppet]!"  Isaac and Joshua, especially Joshua, talked about him non-stop from the time I picked them up from their classes until we reached our next destination.  Although the puppet has said he is a criminal, both boys think he might actually be a good guy.  Joshua was very clear that you can't get close to him or chase him because you might get zapped.  Joshua also said, "We need to sing more songs and play more games so that Bolt Voltage comes back."  I said, "Wait a minute.  We don't sing songs to get the Bolt Voltage to come back.  We sing them for God."  Needless to say, I didn't really hear anything else about their mornings at VBS.

(If you look carefully, you can see a black caped person running in the middle of the picture.)

After VBS we went to the pool with Betsy.  It was a nice fun time too...it's nice being able to do things in the early afternoon.  Near the end Isaac realized he could do a bit of a bob and swim a (very) short distance...we'll have to get him in a pool again soon.  Joshua did a bob and put his ears in the water for a float too, so that was good.

Sunday: child of God

We sang a song in church today - "No longer Slaves" and the lyric that really hit me was "I'm no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God."

It made me start thinking about what it meant to be a child of God.  Usually when I've heard 'child of God' the underlying meaning is that our inheritance in is heaven and that's where we will be going when we die.  This time I started thinking about the parent-child relationship.  (Not to be confused with the parent-teen relationship or the parent-adult relationship.)  How I, as a parent, can cause or let {small} harms come to my child and they come running to me for comfort.  It really amazes me that I can be the cause of their discontent, and yet I'm also their comfort.  I can change the analogy to God and me.  Sometimes it's worrisome that if something really, really bad happens I won't run to God.  I can take comfort in the promise that if, and when, bad things happen I'll run to God because where else would I go?

A child can also say incorrect and mean things.  The parent doesn't disown the child...the parent can see the reasons for the statements and understand the real meaning of what the child is trying to say.  God can understand me too, even when my words are incorrect.

Saturday: more balloon animals

I offered to make hats today.  Joshua wanted his with a stick on the front.

I also made an octopus.  I was surprised to find it in the advanced section, since there are only two twists.  However, the second twist involves twisting eight balloons at once, and my hands aren't that large.

Isaac put the octopus on his stick hat, turning it into a fishing hat.

Joshua wanted a picture too.  I made him wear shorts today, but then left before he put his shirt on.  I would have told him to put a short sleeve shirt on, but by the time he had it on I decided it didn't matter.

I also made a mouse that I'm rather proud of.  The actual twisting of it wasn't hard, but getting the right amount of air in the balloon was harder.