Thursday - Saturday: camping

We went camping with Nathan and his family for a few days.  It's been a while since I've camped in a tent, but really, it was wonderful.

It helped that it didn't rain and the bugs weren't too bad.  At least, not for me.  The kids ended up with a few itchy bites, but we weren't swatting at bugs all the time.  

We met up in Big Rapids for a late lunch.  The kids immediately started being their crazy selves together.

We got the tents set up and the kids ran around for a while while Nathan and I pretended to read but really just talked to each other.  After dinner we went to see the sunset.  It was on a rocky beach and rock-lover Isaac was in heaven.

Friday the kids woke up early but not too early.  The quiet hours at the campground surprisingly ended at 6am, but we attempted to keep everyone quiet until 8am with mixed results.  After breakfast we went to a nature reserve for a hike.

Watching for sticks that they threw in the river on the other side.

I liked all their colors in the green forest.

In the afternoon we went to the beach.  We walked out to the sandbar and Isaac was entertained by going back to the shore and bringing us rocks on the sandbar.  After we got out because we were getting to cold we sat on the beach, but I didn't last very long.  It was hot.  And sunny.  I took Joshua back to the campsite and we had some hammock time.  Isaac actually followed soon afterwards and read. He read a lot more than I was expecting this vacation, but I loved it.

We went back to the beach right at sunset, but didn't spend as long there.

There was a small night hike to throw away the garbage.

Saturday.

We were planning on leaving Saturday afternoon.  Everyone slept in a bit in the morning, which was helpful.  Making a fire from the embers was a fun project right after breakfast.

We went on a hike on the campground trails in the morning, had an early lunch, and went to the beach.  There was some shade this time so I was much happier, but this time Joshua was ready to leave first.  That was fine; I needed to start packing anyway.  The drive home was uneventful.

It was a lovely vacation and I was happy to camp...really camp...again.

Wednesday: block party at church

We went to the block party at church tonight.  There was a bounce race, a bounce water slide, a dunk tank, and food.  We mainly went because there was food.

Also, I fed the worms today.  Two bins are doing ok but have fruit flies.  The third bin is doing amazing!  It's like a worm infestation!

Tuesday: this and that

I feel like I actually got a few things done today.  It was partially because the kids got out the nerf guns.  It started with just trying to hit targets, but then they realized it didn't hurt so they were trying to shoot each other.

I also probably felt like I got stuff done today because I only played one game.  This is down from my 2-3 game daily average.

Monday: song

It was an excellent and busy day and I hadn't actually been planning on blogging about it.  But then I remembered.  My children made me make up words to songs.  I was rather proud of one of the results.  

*Sung to the tune of Head, shoulders knees and toes.

Do-nuts go in mouths not toes.
Mouths not toes, mouths not toes.
Do-nuts go in mouths not toes, 
But you smell them with your nose.

Sunday: more games

We played several more games today.  And cleaned the basement.  It really needed it.

Isaac (and Giraffe) enjoyed playing with the blanket right before bedtime. 

As a completely random aside, I really wish that county and country weren't spelled almost the same and both refer to an area of land in which one resides.  Slowing down to inspect the word to make sure I'm giving the correct answer is annoying.

Saturday: home

 Ben and Isaac worked with some electronics to work on some lights that he got for his birthday.

Tornado was living his best life.

Friday: cats

 Both cats managed to sit in the dryer, one at a time, so I couldn't close the door.

Thursday: puzzle

My idea was to do a puzzle with Joshua while Isaac was at camp today.  He decided we should print a picture, cut it up, and do it.  I said that sounds like a terrible idea.  Printer paper doesn't jigsaw well and it always gets blown around.

Joshua was adamant.

I was adamant.

He decided he'd draw the picture.  Ok.  I'll do that.

Here's the picture.  It has a lot of detail, so that was good.  His LEGO spinners are battling, a cat is jumping at birthday decorations, and a person is throwing a ball.  There's also our coats, counter, and a chair.

Here's the finished product.  He added a LEGO frame, which actually did help the whole thing.  He did also blow on it several times which was annoying, but they were tiny blows.

Overall, a successful project that I have no desire to repeat.

Wednesday: as a game

In the morning, the boys and I stopped rampaging monsters from destroying our home.  It was close, and they destroyed some of the towers, but we defeated them.  (We played Castle Panic)

We went and recovered some of our health.  (We got donuts.)

We did a quest to find an item and bring it back.  (We got some games from Out of the Box with a gift certificate.)

I tried to take over the world, but failed.  (Isaac beat me in Dominion.)

I did my daily quests.  (I did some chores, specifically cleaning the kitchen.)

I recovered some of my health. (We had lunch.)

I did an escort quest.  No one attacked us this time, although I almost saw an attack yesterday during an escore quest. (I brought Isaac to science camp.)

I went to a healer. (I went to a doctor.)

I recovered more health. (I took a nap.)

We dealt with some royalty. (Joshua and I played Sleeping Queens.)

I battled in the arena. (Joshua and I battled with Lego Spinners.)

We went in a maze dungeon.  Several bad guys were killed.  (I told Joshua about my day as a game and he totally bought into it.  We went to the park so he could practice with his scooter and we circled around some of the things to kill them.)

A final escort quest. (Bringing Isaac home.)

Recovering more health. (Dinner)

More daily quests, including animal wrangling and farming. (More chores, including catching the cats for a nail clip and picking raspberries and strawberries.)

I leveled up one of my skills. (I worked on my quilting.)

Next up...recovering more health for tomorrow.

Sunday: birthday party

Sunday night we had a small birthday party for the boys.  This summer is a bit crazy and I told them I could only handle one party.  I did get two cakes though and they had plenty of presents.

I find that the effort I'm putting into birthday parties decreases each year.  The kids don't seem to care.  I'll probably try to have two parties again next year, but the amount of effort will otherwise probably stay about the same.

Last Saturday/Sunday: Saugatuck

We went with Ben's parents by boat and spent the night in Saugatuck.  We had a beautiful day for traveling.

After we got there and had ice cream, of course, Joshua and I went for a walk.  It was a pretty interesting walk.  We found a flower garden, sidewalk stairs, a secret passage, a playground, and a gazebo.

It got cold and Isaac was covering himself with a blanket.  For some reason Ben joined him, but the blanket didn't fit very well.

The boys also got to sleep in the secret room on the boat, but they went in and out of it so much that it wasn't much of a secret. :)  They loved it though!  

In the morning we had a lovely French toast breakfast and slowly went home.

Tuedsay: normal day

It was a rather normal day today.  We played some games, kids had swimming lessons, Isaac had science camp, and Isaac and I had karate.

Amanda, to Ben when he got home from work: How was your day?

Joshua: good.

*Five minutes later*

Ben, to Amanda: How was your day?

Joshua: good.

While it is understandable that he answered at least one of them, the fact that we weren't talking to him and that he answered the same question twice went right over his head.

Monday: dominion

The day started out with a game of Dominion with Isaac.  It was one of his new sets, so we only used that set.  It was a slow game.  Fun, but significantly longer than most games.  There were a lot of bad things that happened on a regular basis that kept us from getting money quickly...and we were trying out the new cards.  The game play worked really well even though there were a ton of new mechanics.  (I expect they'll be shorter in the future because we'll mix the new cards with the old cards and we won't have as many bad things..)

Isaac had a camp in the afternoon, so Joshua and I were going to meet up with one of his friends from school at a playground.  However, it was rainy right before we were supposed to meet, so they came over to our house.  After a bit the boys started playing by themselves and I taught the other mom Dominion.  These games were shorter, so we were able to play three of them. :)

And just like that, the day was done.

Friday: naps

 We were excited because Horizon sat on Joshua's lap for a while.  (He didn't get to nap with me, and was feeling sad when I woke up.)

A few minutes later Joshua was excited because Horizon was sleeping on his lap.  A few more minutes and he was sleeping too.

Thursday: games

Today there was nothing on the calendar, surprisingly!  We got groceries and made a quick stop at the library.  Joshua and I rode our bikes around the lake and we played a ton of board games.  The kids don't seem to enjoy the same games which is annoying, but it also means that I have some one-on-one time with both of them.

Most of the games were really fun, except for red black.  Yes, this dumb card game has shown up in our house again.  The rules have changed from when Isaac was two, but not by much.  Joshua looked at a card, asked me, "red or black?" and I'd respond with red.  Every time.  I didn't want to be playing this game but it was almost bedtime so I persevered.  He did add a few extra questions, "what number between one and x?"  I always guessed x, and it was often correct.  Joshua was entertained by this game for a longer time than I was expecting, especially since I always gave the same answer.

Wednesday: Sandy Pines

 Uncle Lee and Aunt Sue invited us to Sandy Pines again!  We had a great time.

We played some mini golf.  Isaac improved a ton from the first time in 2018 when we visited.  Joshua has improved, but will often just hit the ball a ton.  We just play for fun though, so it doesn't matter.

Then we went swimming.  Isaac was a little on the fence about it because it was in the low 70s, but we decided to go anyway.  It was an excellent choice.  He loved the water slide.  Once Joshua finally gathered up enough courage to go down the water slide he loved it too.  I think they both went down it at least 20 times.

We then went for lunch and ice cream.  Joshua crashed while waiting for the food, but the ice cream seemed to pick him back up again.  Phew.  We stopped by one additional playground and swung a bit, looked at the flowers and bird feeders at their house, and then were on our way.

We got home and I crashed.  I didn't think that we had done anything that hard, but I laid down for a nap almost immediately and was asleep within two seconds.  I woke up a few times to direct the children on the school work they should be doing after they had screen time, but just could not wake up well.

We also got the wrong package from Amazon.  It was supposed to be for another house and of course we didn't get the package that we were supposed to receive.  Amazon deals with the stuff easily, but it's annoying.  I couldn't just wait to see if my package showed up correctly because I need some of the items by Sunday for a birthday.  Joshua and I took a walk and brought the incorrect package to the correct house, but just left it on their doorstep.  

Tuesday: crazy town

Oh my goodness, it was crazy town today.

We'll start with the thunderstorm last night.  It was amazing.  I don't think I've ever seen that much lightning in a storm...it was constant.  It totally put the fireworks to shame.

Next we'll talk about Joshua.  He talked the entire day.  I'm not kidding.  He probably spoke at least 3x his normal amount of words.  I could barely handle it at the end of the day and hid in the office.

Next we'll talk about Isaac and Joshua.  Any time they were together it was wrestling/running/hugging craziness.  We'd tell them to tone it down and two minutes later they were back at it.  I finally threatened them with cleaning their bedrooms by themselves if they didn't move the crazy away from me.  And I went to take a nap, so that they couldn't start again in two minutes in front of me.

Joshua jumped off the diving board at swimming lessons.  It was probably his first time.

He also made a new tower.  It got rather unstable, so he took it down right before dinner.

I found the lost Giraffe!  He had been missing for a few days.  He likes to be on top of heads, so I let him sit there for a little bit to celebrate being found.

Monday: Happy 4th

For this year's 4th of July we didn't really do anything special.  We just continued our normal weekend activities.

Joshua did a lot of building.  First with hot wheels, which haven't come out for a while.

Then he built a fort in which to play the switch.  Just before dinner he started listening to an audiobook and feel asleep.  I had a hard time waking him up.  The baby blanket is a hammock for Grey Bear.

Last Tuesday: Mackinaw City

We debated between which fort we wanted to visit in the morning: Colonial Michilimackinac on the mainland or Fort Mackinac on the island.  The webpages were obviously made by the same person and looked fairly similar.  We ended up deciding on Colonial Michilimackinac.  (I don't know if it was the best decision, but it was a good decision.)

We took the ferry back and decided to make a quick detour to cross the bridge.

The fort was excellent.  There were people in costume and willing to answer all the questions.  I had more questions than the kids this time, but they enjoyed exploring.  Joshua really wanted to go on the ...I don't know the correct terminology...bridge around the inside of the fort and the corner lookouts.

We heard the artillery fire and the muskets fire.  I probably could have stayed a bit longer, but Joshua was starting to be done.  So we grabbed lunch and went home.  It was a short, but fun, trip.

Sunday: fireworks

Even though it's only the 3rd, it appeared that everyone in the neighborhood was doing fireworks tonight.  In our little cove there were three parties going on out of the five houses.  Anyway, we went out on the deck and had a wonderful fireworks display that lasted quite a while!  The mosquitos weren't too bad this year either, so we were able to enjoy them outside for the whole time.