Weekend: camping

We went camping this weekend.  It was crazy hot and rained at the very end, but we still had a great time.

(Some of the pictures are from Nate and Liz.)

We got the tents set up and the kids played jail before anything was in them.

The boys enjoyed a bunch of jumping.  The castle was up all weekend.  (We have a cute video too, but it is the kind that only the parents will enjoy.)

The kids also enjoyed the jumping pillow; Isaac's been asking for it all year.  The smaller ones took a few times to warm up to it.  The first bit they just liked to sit and be bounced by others, but by the end they were running all over it.

We brought our water table.  With the heat we thought it might be a good option, even if it was rather large.  They didn't get super wet too much, but did enjoy playing with it.

The adults!  There aren't many pictures of us.  The kids were too cute.

I told them they could squirt my toes.  Joshua dumped lots of cold water on them instead.  (I had put some extra ice in the water.)

Bubbles were a hit too.

They all really, really wanted to go on the train.  It was cute to see them all steer as they left the station.  They took it quite seriously.

Tractor ride!

Sunday morning the rain started around 5:30.  I was ok with that...it meant pack up would be annoying, but at least the rain wouldn't have time to soak through everything.  (Side note: Isaac hasn't been camping yet where it didn't rain a lot.)  I thought about keeping the kids in a tent, but it wasn't raining that hard and they had fun with umbrellas.  Or, in Joshua's case, without.

The boys and I went to change after we were all packed up and as I was almost done I looked outside and it was dark.  More storms were coming!  I hurried up, and was caught in about a minute of downpour.  However, our plan was to have breakfast at McDonalds and getting from the car into McDonalds soaked me more than packing up the campsite.  At least everything was in the car by then though!

It was hot this afternoon so I got some of the stuff dried and de-sanded.  It'll be a process.  If only it wouldn't rain.  Joshua slept a big nap this afternoon as he (and Ben and I) hadn't slept great.  We didn't sleep as bad as JJ, but it was nice to be in our own beds.

Thursday: code-a-pillar

Today we stayed home.  There were a lot of things to do at home, and so the day didn't drag...but it didn't go by very quickly either.  Around 11 we moved the furniture and I challenged Isaac to use his code-a-pillar to see how many different spots it could get to, if he always started at the same spot.  At the beginning it was pretty random, but by the end he was making slight adjustments to see how it would change.

Every end spot got a sticky.  Isaac also wrote "End" on every single one.  I wasn't really expecting that, but it seemed like a good way to learn something.

Also, why do children keep bringing things into the kitchen and then leaving them there??  It isn't a large kitchen and on days like today it felt like I could barely move without running into something.  I have a "no pillows in the kitchen" rule and a "don't bring a chair in if there is an available step stool" rule, but they weren't enough today.

Wednesday: blueberry picking

Today we went blueberry picking with Aunt C.  It ended up being the first day of picking and the bushes were loaded.  I was hoping to get at least 15 minutes worth of picking in; I remembered that last year it didn't go so well.

We started our activity by checking out the port-a-potty.  Isaac has been in one before, but apparently doesn't remember it.  He's been rather fascinated by them since the road construction workers have one and we pass it a lot.  But hey, they have to learn some how.  This one was nice and clean.

Then we finally made it to the blueberries.  Isaac did a great job.  Joshua started by taking them from my hand and putting them in his bucket, but soon realized he could do it himself.  He did an excellent job of just getting the big blue ones.  (I was rather surprised, actually.  He only grabbed one or two green ones the whole time.)  Then he decided the best blueberries were 10m down the row.  So he'd walk...and walk...and finally find the perfect berry.  He'd get it, then bring it all the way back to CC's bucket.  I tried bringing a bucket closer to him, but he didn't want to put it in that bucket.  We probably picked for a good 30-40 minutes, at which point Joshua got thirsty.  I was hot by that time anyway, so we packed up.

Tuesday: magician

Today's big even was going to see a magician at the library tonight.  He did a great job...there were several things that I could guess how he did them, but they are still so fun to see.  (And there were several that I have no idea on how he did them.)  Isaac loved it.  Joshua enjoyed it too...and he had a bit of extra room so he could roll around a bit when he got bored.

One of the helpers was called Joshua, and every time the magician said, "Joshua" Joshua would point to himself and say Joshua.

Monday: clean under things

Today's activity was to clean under things.  (Not underthings, as Ben first heard it.  I do those bi-weekly.)

We started with the fridge.

Here's what we found.  Apparently we should do this twice a year instead of once a year.

Then we did the oven.  (I had an ant problem from there, as can be seen by the five traps.  The nice thing about under the oven is that it is safe, so I threw a bunch down there.

Lastly we did the master bedroom.  We moved/elevated all the furniture so the rumba could get to it and let it run.

In other stories, Isaac decided to try frozen and cooked green beans today.  (Instead of just frozen peas.)  I heard this story three times, so thought you would enjoy it too.


Ben was doing his exercises tonight and throwing a ball over the couch for Joshua to retrieve.  Ben thought it would be funny to hide, so while Joshua was behind the couch he went on the couch.  Joshua came around, finally found Ben, and reprimanded: "Exercise!"

Weekend: cottage

This past weekend we went up to Dad and Pat's cottage and had a wonderful (and relaxing) time.  Well, at least Ben and I relaxed.  I think the kids played hard.

We caught (and released) chipmunks.

Joshua got cookies from Grandpa while holding EE

Isaac got wheelbarrow rides from Grandpa.

Both boys enjoyed walking on the boat.

Isaac found the special rocks and cleaned them up

while Joshua threw the newly laid sand in the water.

Isaac helped Joshua clean off his hands...several times

...and then went on a paddleboat ride.

The swing was a big hit for both of them.  Joshua just liked to swing and Isaac liked to swing and twist.

More snacks!

A ride around the lake.

A boat ride.

Isaac even got to steer.

We went through some pretty lily pads.

And swung some more!

When we got home, and Isaac had cleaned his room, I found them like this watching TV.

Thursday: copying

Joshua copies Isaac all the time.  Things he says, things he likes, etc.  Some are unexpected but I guess not odd, such as robots, since we have them in the house.  Some things are more unexpected, such as liking the same green monkey that Isaac loved for a while (and calling it EE too, although maybe someone mentioned that was the name.)  The other unexpected thing is getting squirt with pretend water squirters all the time.  Anything can be a water squirter.

However, Isaac copies Joshua too.  He sees something that Joshua is doing and wants to do it.  Sometimes Joshua makes a funny noise and then Isaac copies it.  Today it was putting the suction cups on the the table.

This is Joshua's creation.

And this is Isaac's.