Last Tuesday: Burritt on the mountian

Most of the group in front of the mansion.  "Mansion."  It was pretty small.

The upstairs room.  There was a mineral display there, although I couldn't figure out why.

Isaac and Marshall went to the playground halfway through the mansion tour.

In the "blast to the past" area there was a maze to show paths of how slaves would get to freedom.  Notice the lack of tall people with short people.  It was easy to lose them, but there were enough of us that it didn't matter too much.

By the goats.

All the kids!  We finally got a good shot...we actually got several.

Isaac liked looking at the train pictures.

Oh, a different good picture.

Our luncheon dessert.  It had been a long time since I've had astronaut ice cream.  It was surprisingly creamy.

Isaac really wanted me to take a picture of this card.

Floating boats and sticks down a stream.

It was rather hot by the end, so Joshua didn't have all the straps connected in the carrier.

Sunday: home

We got home today around 1pm.  The drive went really well...not much construction and the boys either slept, played, or watched something.

We hired a babysitter for a few hours tonight.  I realized that getting home after a lot of driving means that Ben and I just want to crash and Isaac (and Joshua) want to go crazy.  And since we had saved a lot of money by not flying, we could splurge a bit.  It worked really well and we might have to do it again.

Last Monday: pool

Playing doctor before the pool.

Dancing before the pool.  They had just gotten ready to dance and the song stopped. :(

Pool!

First try to get a kids' picture.  It didn't work for so many reasons.  But pretty much none of the kids wanted their picture taken.

Dinner at Texas Roadhouse: guys' table.

Dinner at Texas Roadhouse: mostly girls' table.

Someone woke up around 10pm and was super happy.  He was especially happy to help Ben choose cards.

Last Sunday: Space and Rocket center

Playing...there were so many toys and Isaac and Joshua loved it!

Getting sunscreened.

Hanging like a bat at the robot zoo.

Camouflaging like a chameleon.

Ring around the rosies under a rocket.

 Watching Ben on a ride.

Space shuttle/moon walk play area.

Joshua under Saturn V

Steering to the moon in the play area

Walking down the walkway arm.  At the end I threw him up in the air like a rocket would.

In the Apollo trainer.  The seats were rather comfy and Isaac almost took a nap.

Joshua with Saturn V.

Everyone by Saturn V

A tired Joshua.

Playing ring around the rosies after nap time.

After dinner yard time.

Last Saturday: arrival

So here are the pictures...they make the stories so much more fun.

The water fountain at the hotel, in the super super sauna room.  It had a sensor and gave cold water.  We visited it a lot while waiting for Ben to wake up.

Water table.

Squirt bottles were a hit.  Here they were very intent on squirting the stairs.

Saturday: bittersweet

Today's activity was to go to the pool again. It was fun. The boys had a good time. Isaac is deathly afraid of getting water on his face which is super annoying. Joshua got dunked a few times and "jumped" off the edge.

We went home and struggled to keep Joshua awake. Of course, he was then wide awake at nap time. I handed him over to Ben who said he was full of energy the whole time I napped. He got a bit cranky after that, but it also meant he went to sleep promptly in the car.

After dinner we left. I think it was the right amount of vacation, but still sad. The group is diverse and similar at the same time. It was a good vacation.

Before I had even taken my foot off the brake to back out of the drive way Isaac asked, "are we there yet?" We were also talking about returning our car and Isaac said, "We can return it Monday or Saturday. Those are our options." He sounds so grown up when he says that, but makes no sense. Speaking of grown up, he did his first credit card transaction while getting gas today. And Joshua started creeping along furniture. He'll be walking soon.

We're currently in Indiana. I doubt we'll get out before we find a hotel, but hopefully we'll get about half way.

Friday: cave!

This morning we went to a cave. It was big. It was darkish. It was a perfect temperature. The normal cave things were there...fallen rocks, columns, stalagmites, stalactites, soda straws. Beautiful. Amazing.

The first family of the group left afterwards. :(

After naps we made some ice cream, although haven't tasted it yet. We played outside. Isaac was completely exhausted at bed time. He kept telling me that all he wanted to do was sleep.

Hmm...I also had a funny conversation with Isaac written up, but can't access it right now. I guess it'll be tbd.