Saturday: Herrickfest

The other day someone asked me what I did in the summer.  I mentioned a few things, including that the library has a ton of stuff to do.  I realized how true that is this week: Wednesday was storytime, Thursday was Bubbleman, Friday was Sensory Time at a different library, and today was a party put on by the library.  A bunch of the local associations come with fun (and free!) things for kids to do.

It was a bit cool...by the end of the second hour Joshua was very cold and ready to go home, although I expect the Popsicle didn't help any.  It was a ton of fun though; we'll have to go again next year.

It started with a tractor ride.  It was relatively long, and the tractor went in some tight circles.  Isaac wanted a green barrel.

We got looked at some rocks.  We took apart (and put together, somewhat) a keyboard.  Joshua slowly but surely plugged away at the number keys.  (Joshua also mentioned tonight that we shouldn't take apart our play keyboards.)

We did a photobooth and the pictures came out ok.  Then some fishing.

Then I gave in and let them have their treat.  I should have waited until we were a bit more ready to go, as it was the beginning of the end.  Oh well.  The boys were really looking forward to the treat.

This evening I finally got a picture of them in their puppy pajamas.  The pajamas are new and are a hit!

Friday: lunch sounds

Today was the last lunch in the fort; it stayed up longer than I really wanted it to, but it provided so much entertainment.

Here are the sounds from lunch today.  The video is nothing...it's really just for the audio.   It was like this the whole time.

Thursday: Biking, bubbles, and banners

We rode our bikes around the lake today.  It was a short ride, as they go, but I changed Isaac's training wheels from a little wobbly to very wobbly.  At first I was 'afraid' that he wouldn't really feel the difference, but about 1/3 of the way around he had a good balance.  It was probably only a second or two, but enough that we both realized it.  I was glad because now he at least knows what is good balancing.  (It turns out training wheels are loud.  It is a great thing, because then you know if you're balancing.  I never realized that about them before.)

We went to a bubble program through the library.  We saw a square bubble. (Link.  See bubble wonders library life interview, 1:19).  At story time yesterday it was mentioned that someone would get to be in a bubble, and Isaac mentioned several times that he wanted to be in a bubble.  He sat near the front but was not chosen.  I told him at the end if he was patient he could ask the presenter when most of the people had left, although the presenter might say no.  Well, Isaac was able to get in a bubble.


Joshua did it too.

It was a noisy afternoon and evening.  The boys played together a lot, but that also meant there was a bit more bickering than normal this afternoon.  They were also loud.  It got on my nerves, but I think that was more my problem than theirs.  They were playing some chase game in the evening that they were loving and they were happy and entertained, but I was also very glad to put them to bed.

Here are the banners.  They're really streamers, but the alliteration in the title was nice.  Isaac wanted to do this last summer and I finally got around to it.  Joshua said that they tickled.

Wednesday: fort

Isaac made a fort today, right around lunch time.  I was too big to get in it and I didn't push the point as I wasn't really sure I wanted to get in it.  I told the boys that if they made a spot where they could eat they could have lunch in there too.

By the end of the day it had a gazillion toys and a light.  But they were happily entertained for a large chunk of the day.

Monday: birthday party

Today was Isaac's half birthday party.  He's 5 1/2.  It's a bit early, but next week we're rather busy.

He took decorating his lemonade cake very seriously.  There were a gazillion sprinkles on it.

We decorated.

And people came!  The menu was spicy hot dogs (and other sausage and bratwurst), pineapple, crunchy beans, and chips.

I had the table set up outside for dinner, but a half hour before hand the temperature felt like it was dropping and the rain chance was rather high and it was windy.  I think moving inside was a good plan, but it was a bit warm.

He also got several presents he was very excited about.

Sunday: Happy Father's Day

Today was a rather normal day; I didn't do anything too special for Father's Day even though there are great dads all around me.

Today was a perfect puddle day though.  There are several requirements for a perfect puddle day...
1. There needs to be a puddle.  Usually this means it needs to have rained recently.
2. It can't be too cold out.  (Having number 1 and 2 at the same time is surprisingly hard.)
3. We need to be on our way home and not really in a hurry.

We played some Legos, as normal.

We got together with Ben's family for dinner.  Our gift to Larry was some Miracle Berries...they are supposed to block the sour sensors in your tongue for a limited time and change the taste of food.  They worked pretty well, although not everything changed quite as much as I was hoping.  Sour Patch Kids tasted completely sweet.  Strawberries were delicious and tasted like they were coated with a bit of sugar.  Grapefruit was good.  The lemon and lime were still tangy, but edible.  Bitter stuff didn't change at all like I was hoping.

Saturday: strawberries

We went to pick strawberries this morning.  We almost didn't go because it finally rained last night and it looked like there might be a little more rain coming.  The boys decided that they still wanted to go.

Isaac had his winter boots on, and it was a good thing.  There were dryish paths, but I don't think I could have kept two kids' feet mostly not wet.  It didn't rain while we were there, so that was nice too.

We didn't get a ton of strawberries, but it was still a nice outing.  And these strawberries are delicious!!  It was well worth the trip.

We gave Ben his Father's Day present early.  (It was Legos, of course.)  So we spent more time in the basement working on our sets.