Last Saturday: Conner Praire

The forecast changed overnight, and so at the last minute we decided to change our plans.  (This ended up being a wonderful change.)  So we went to Conner Prairie.  This was probably my favorite place of the trip.  It was so fun to have all the people in character and talk to you and it was a beautiful day.  We were there almost the whole time and didn't get through all the stuff either.

There was a trading post.

A farm area, although the boys were not as impressed by this.

A treetop/tree fort area:

A prairie town.  We talked a lot about leaches and even got to touch one.

We got ice cream after prairie town because it was getting hot and the kids were wilting a bit.  (To be fair, it was snack time.)  Isaac ended up with my root beer float.  The kids had been waiting all afternoon for the ice cream.

We made one more stop at the loom house.  They were unfortunately not actually using the loom that day, which I had really wanted to see.  They were spinning though, and we spent quite a while watching and asking questions.

We had to leave after that because it was closing time, but we had asked the guys to get dinner ready.  So by the time we got home and settled there was something delicious to eat!

Saturday: summer list

One of the things the boys said they wanted to do this summer was eat blackberries.  They were on sale this week, so we were able to cross it off the list.

Friday: Urban Air

Today was a busy day!  We started out in at a playground (Drenthe Grove Park) with my mom's group from church.  It was a new playground for us, so we rated it like last year.  It was a pretty normal playground, but it did have close bathrooms and a lot of shade.

Isaac: 6
Joshua: 7
Amanda: 9

We ate lunch and then went to Urban Air.  The boys have wanted to go for ages.  It was a lot of fun...I got the parent admission so I could also do all the activities, but I don't think I'll need to do them again.  Once was enough...fun and I'm glad I did it, but trying to escape the foam pit was more difficult than I expected.  I think being larger just makes a lot of the things harder.

Anyway...Joshua was a bit afraid of heights, but he worked his way up to the tops of the climbing wall and even tried the ropes course at the very end.  He was a bit scared of the ropes course so we only went around the first small section, but he did a good job while he was up there. 

There was a ton of climbing stuff for Isaac.

Joshua's favorite part was the ball pit.  It was really an obstacle course with balls underneath (like ninja warrior), but a lot of kids just played in the balls.

Isaac's favorite thing was in the climbing wall section.  It was a bunch of capped tubes that got higher and higher that you needed to climb and then you could jump/spin off the top one.

We stayed about 3.5hours, but at the end everyone was just a tad bit out of sorts.  They rebounded quickly though once we were home.

Thursday: roof

Today they put a new roof on the house.  It was loud and annoying, but...they (mostly) finished within 12 hours!  I had been expecting a week or so of annoyance, so I was delighted to find out it would go so quickly.  We did get a large crew (12 or so guys), which is one of the main reasons.  Some crews apparently have significantly fewer people and so it obviously takes longer.  We also didn't have any damage under the shingles that needed to be repaired.

There is a bit of caulking left for tomorrow and the dumpster is still in the driveway, but it should be mostly quiet at least.

We also brought Grandma to her appointment today.  The boys came with me to see her.

Last Friday: done with school!

Today was (finally) the last day of school for the kids.  They had a half day.  We got home, dumped all of their stuff by the counter, finished packing, took a short nap, and then headed out for vacation!

I *think* I finally figured out how to tell them how to dress.  Joshua likes shorts and a T-shirt if the high is going to be about 63F or warmer, but is willing to bring a jacket.  Isaac likes pants until about 70F, and usually will take a sweatshirt regardless.  (In the pictures above, Isaac was going to be outside most of the morning and Joshua was going to be inside.)

Wednesday: no school

Well, today felt a bit crazy.  It was the first day of summer vacation being home.  The kids did a great job, but I also felt like I only got half of my normal work done.  This was a bit of a problem because I had 1.5x the work to do today because we just got home from vacation.  I chose to do several things with the kids and it was definitely the right choice, but I didn't get some important things done.

We went strawberry picking first thing in the morning.  It's a hot week, but there was a nice breeze and strawberry picking really doesn't take that long.

Joshua started to incubate his hedgehog from the children's museum and I got some jam set up.

I also played several games with the kids, taught Isaac how to do his laundry, and attempted to get some normal chores done.

Thursday: good news, bad news

Local Quilter Semifinalist in International Quilt Show 

Paducah, Kentucky, USA – Amanda Hilldore from Holland is a semifinalist for the 2022 AQS QuiltWeek® – Grand Rapids, Michigan held August 17 – 20, 2022, at the DeVos Place Convention Center. Amanda has been chosen to display the quilt, MESHING TOGETHER, along with 389 others in this AQS contest. First, Second, and Third Place prizes in seven categories will be awarded, along with seven overall awards including Best of Show. Winners will be announced at the show and posted on the AQS website, Americanquilter.com. More than $50,000 will be granted, including $10,000 for the Best of Show and $3,500 each for Best Wall Quilt, Best Traditional Design, Best Original Design, Best Hand, Best Stationary, and Best Movable Workmanship. Regardless of how MESHING TOGETHER places in the final judging, all semifinalist quilts will be displayed at the show. 

AQS President Bill Schroeder says, “AQS has a longstanding history of having the best of the best quilts in our contests. Just when we think the quality of the quilts can’t get any better, quilters step up their creativity even more and set a new standard of quiltmaking. This year’s contests are no exception and these quilts are truly exceptional.” 

Quilts were entered in this international contest from 38 US states and 12 countries. Come see a wide range of special exhibit quilts including: New Quilts from an Old Favorite: Wheel of Fortune; The Diana Cherrywood Challenge Exhibit; SAQA: Wide Horizons VII; The Ties That Bind Us curated by Wendy Brackman; along with a variety of quilts from the West Michigan Quilt Guild. 

The American Quilter’s Society hosts several shows annually, each with its own quilt contest. Besides the Grand Rapids, Michigan show, AQS hosts other prestigious shows in Daytona Beach, Florida; Branson, Missouri; Paducah, Kentucky; and Des Moines, Iowa.

The bad news is that I'll be on vacation and not able to actually attend.

Wednesday: roof

Shingles were delivered today for our new roof.  I don't notice the roof line often, but it was quite noticeable with the shingles!  Next we need to see a duck on the shingles.

Tuesday: gas

Today I paid more than $5/gallon for gas.  ($5.199, to be exact.)

Monday: quilting

Most quilting things don't get posted to this blog, but the random picture of the day was late at night, when I'm quilting.

I'm currently making a bunch of half-square triangles (HSTs).  I think it's a dumb name, because it makes it sound like your base block is a triangle instead of a square.  Perhaps triangle in a half square would be better?  I'm not really sure and I really have no power to change it.

I have about half of them made that I'll need.  I've been trading out cutting the squares, sewing them together, cutting and pressing the HSTs, and trimming.  It's been nice because I don't get too sick of doing one thing over and over.

Oh!  As I was looking at my pictures I also found some of Joshua's work that I found funny.  I feel like he really got stuck in a loop while sounding out museum.

Sunday: table

Today I'd like to show you a clean table.  It's a rare sight in this house, as the children seem to think they can just put things on the table and leave them there.  We had a discussion about how they should start taking something as they walk by and putting it away.  I don't know if it'll stick.  

I suppose it's better than having toys all over the floor as we used to have with small children.  

(Oh, I oddly stopped cleaning it in the middle, did some other stuff, then took the picture.  Don't worry, the whole table's been cleaned now.)

Saturday: normal day

It was a rather normal Saturday for us.  We worked on some Lego sets and played some games.  All the laundry is finally washed and dried and some of it is even put away.

The raspberries are getting close to showing up...I'm just starting to see the first green berries.  Hopefully I'll only need to wait a week or two now!

The random picture of the day showed up as Isaac and I were finishing our Dominion game.  It was a 'trash' game, in which there was a lot of trashing cards.  Isaac choose a few cards that worked really well together, but they almost worked too well together.  I managed to win for the first time in a while, but we weren't really sure why.

Friday: vaccines

The boys got their booster vaccines today.  They were quite unexcited about them, but at the same time there weren't any problems getting them.  I did get some new cards because 1) the first person to write on the card did it pretty much illegibly and 2) the first person wrote that they received Moderna.  I mentioned this to the provider who at first was just like, "yeah, I changed mine too" and I followed up with "well, Moderna wasn't authorized for them".  Now, I wasn't all that worried because the lot number seemed similar to their second Pfizer shot and I'm pretty sure I confirmed with the provider that they were getting Pfizer.  Anyway, today she was able to quickly look it up and it actually was Pfizer.  So now I have correct and legible cards.

The peonies are also in bloom!  I feel like I usually miss the blooms because it thunderstorms right after they open and are done in a day.  There is also a ton of cotton from the cottonwood all over the place.  It seems to have snowed.  It makes it a bit hard to hang up the laundry, but if I don't hang it up I'm not going to have enough time to get it all through the dryer!  I usually put it in the dryer for 10-30 minutes anyway to get rid of the crunchiness and anything else that might have ended up on the clothes, and the seeds have all come off the clothes during that time.

Today's random picture is of masks.  We barely use these anymore since Omicron since we switched to KN95 masks and I really should move most of them to a different (but still accessible) location.  They don't need to be so prominent anymore.

Thursday: school

It feels like everyone in the area is getting out of school this week and we still have a week left.  While I enjoy having the kids in school, it also is nice to have them home for the summer.  (Have I mentioned it's going to be a busy summer?)

Today's random picture comes from right before nap time.  I often eat on the couch and don't make it to the bed before falling asleep.  The cats are also more likely to nap with me on the couch.

Tuesday: zoo

Joshua had a field trip to the zoo today!  It was a bit sad that it was right after Memorial Day, but we managed just fine.

We went via bus.  This was so much nicer than driving.

I had three boys in my group; here they are being meerkats.  The zoo was busy, although not as busy as some of the stories I've heard lately.  (The meerkat bubble was pretty crowded.)

We found a zookeeper waiting to put back some tortoises and willing to answer lots of questions.  It turns out that this tortoise is named Joshua!

We finished with about an hour to spare, so we went to the playground.  By this time it was hot and the playground was hot, so they only lasted about fifteen minutes.  It worked out perfectly though, because they were just starting to board the bus when we walked up!

Joshua still held my hand many times throughout our visit...it's pretty nice that he's still willing to do that.  Isaac did not hold my hand in Lansing.  (As is appropriate.  He doesn't hold my hand much any more, but it's still a bit sad.)

Weekend: Memorial Day Camping

 We went camping at the conference grounds again this year!  The weather was pretty nice...a bit cool on Saturday and Sunday morning, but warm after that.  We also rented a different RV and it was huge!  The boys had a little room of their own in the back with a door and it was nice.  I didn't hear them as much when they woke up.

There is a beach again, so we went on Sunday to play a bit.

Scooters were a hit!  Unfortunately, Joshua broke his three-wheeled one Saturday night.  Well, maybe not unfortunately, because Ben and I would really like to get him on the two-wheeled one he got for Christmas.  It's a bit more wobbly though, so he wasn't as excited.  He practiced on it a few times, but the excitement wasn't there yet.  We'll need to put that on the to-do list for the summer.

The playground changed and while Joshua still enjoyed it, Isaac was less than thrilled.  Apparently they took away a train that was fun to climb on top of and added a boat and some swings.

Joshua took several walks with me and we found all four swinging benches, a few other sitting places, and the recycling dumpster.  It was fun to have a walking buddy.

We also played family trivia and came in 5th place out of 16.  This surprised everyone, especially since Sports and Music were two of the categories.  We did have some help as two of our friends' kids were part of our family, but there was a lot of guessing.

As always, we had way too much sugar (but it was all delicious).  It was nice to catch up with our friends and just have some time away from everything.

Tuesday: Random picture of the day

 There's an app that, once a day at a random time, prompts you to take a picture of where ever you are or whatever you're doing.  However, I couldn't get my user name to be accepted.  It wouldn't tell me why and I tried a few iterations, so I eventually gave up.

But I still liked the idea.  And honestly, putting the random picture in the blog is a better place for me anyway...then I only have one place to document everything.  So I found a random alert that can do the same thing.  I don't know that I'll post all the pictures, but it's still a fun idea.

Today we ended up in the laundry room.  I didn't do laundry last week (Friday) because of camping and then there is always a ton of laundry from camping.  Honestly, it doesn't get done very quickly even on good days.  I'm 2.5 loads in and still have several left.  (I did a small load when we got home from camping so everyone would have enough clothes on Tuesday.)

I also went grocery shopping today.  I returned a bunch of pop cans, but forgot all of my reusable bags.  The store had everything that I needed though!  Even the things on my list that had been out of stock for several weeks were back.  While I know it had to happen at some point, with all the dire grocery shortage warnings I thought it would be worse.  I did stock up on some bread and threw it in the freezer.  Now I just need to remember to change it out once in a while until the wheat shortage actually hits.  (If?  I just looked it up instead of just listening to gossip and it doesn't sound dire for the US as we export a lot of wheat.  There are, of course, other issues at hand...supply chain, worker shortages, and gas prices that could affect things.)