Vacation Day 5: crazy bounce, guys' day

We took the kids to Crazy Bounce.  Isaac had been asking to go to a greenhouse with one bounce thing, so I figured he'd be very excited about this.  It was much bigger than I expected.  And we had the place to ourselves for about an hour, which was awesome.

I also got to go on them, which I didn't think was going to happen.  Well, I thought maybe once or twice, but I went on them a lot!

Katy and I also did the velcro race thingy.  I won the first time, and during the second one Katy pulled off a spectacular win, staying with the cord stretched at it almost maximum longer than I thought possible.

The tank was Joshua's favorite.  A little climbing, a little sliding.  Just right.

The tiger was not his favorite, because he got a "carpet" burn going down it.  Next to it is the polar bear, which was probably Isaac's favorite.  It was the biggest.

The castle was a hit with both boys too.  They starting playing "Royal Puppies save the queen" and the puppies came out in full force for the rest of the time there, and even the rest of the day a little bit.  Even Isaac started "woofing" a lot, and he usually doesn't do that around other people.

The guys went to Craig's Cruisers, out for lunch, and then a movie.

Meanwhile we played in the basement a bit.

And then went outside again.

The guys came home and everyone was rather tired, so they watched some video games.  Joshua fell asleep; I stuffed some fudge in his mouth to help him wake up.

It was a long day for me too.  But I at least waited until after dinner for a little nap.

Once the kids were in bed we played poker, a throwback to our days in grad school when we played it on a regular basis.  There was a lot of laughter.

We also realized that we often tell our kids to do things that we don't do.  Case in point, not trying a food because it looked yucky.

We also had a water spill, which seems to be a rather common occurrence too.

Merp.

Monday: VBS day 1 and dance

Vacation Bible School started today.  It went fine.  I have a great helper.  I don't feel like I'm the greatest leader, but I do try.

It is a space theme this year.

Joshua could barely get his face in.

This evening Joshua had his first dance class.  He was excited this morning when I told him, but he then said, "They might make me wear a dress."  I said, "They won't."  Joshua just responded with, "We'll see."  It sounded like something I would say when I was rather sure about something but didn't want to argue about it.  I think they're prancing like pigs below...I was outside when taking the picture.

The blog will be silent for a bit, as Ben and I mourn with those who mourn.

Vacation Day 4: Dutch Village, fireworks

Picture overload!  There were so many cute ones today.

The full group shot.  It's a bit dark, but the only one we managed to take.  Oh, we went to Dutch Village today.

We started with the Ferris wheel because there was no line.  Isaac loved it, as expected.

Joshua went on it with Ben, but only once.

Then Joshua went on some scooter things, where you're supposed to turn the wheel back and forth to go forwards.  He did ok.  I gave him several pushes.

We watched the Dutch Dancers.  They asked if people thought the shoes were uncomfortable and when hands were raised said that because we didn't have enough socks.  I'd like to mention that I did wear enough socks and they were still uncomfortable.  The dance was fun, although different than the one done on the public streets during Tulip Time.  Probably for the best so visitors can see multiple variations.

We went on the swing chairs.  Isaac liked it, although wished the sprayer was on.  Joshua did not like them, but at least didn't freak out.

Then the thing that spins with horses (because I can never spell carasel.  Or spinny/spinney/spiny).  I asked Joshua if I should stand by him or ride behind him and he said ride, so I got to ride too!

Ben watched our youngest member.

There was a wooden shoe making demo, along with a large shoe for pictures.  (I know, they're dark.  I'm not going to edit them though as there are too many.)

The pumpers!  This was the non-ride item that Isaac wanted to do the most.

The band picture!  We've managed to take a similar picture ever since Niagara.  The kids got in on this too.

And just the adults.

We then went home for lunch and naps (since it was going to be a late night).  But since admission is for all day, we came back!  Isaac wanted to ride the Ferris wheel and Joshua wanted to go down.  We think he just wanted to go down part of the play structure that was there.  He dragged Dusty over to the play structure, got some help going up, stayed there for five minutes, and came down.  And he was happy.

We went on the swings a few more times.

We made it over to the train.

The kids decided to try the pumping trains.  The younger girls had a hard time; the older boys did ok.

On the way home Isaac suddenly asked, "Mom, do you know someone you died?"  This was an odd question as he knows that my mom died.  I said, "yes, Grandma Julie."  Isaac then started to weep a bit because he wanted to meet her.  So we talked about heaven and how she's waiting there to meet him.  And that we get to have Grandma Pat with us instead.

Flurry survived and even came out a few times.

It was time to get a picture of the kids.  They were good sports.  Even if it was too sunny and Isaac is going to choke Joshua.

Another try.

Sparklers!

Isaac's favorite thing of the week was the rockets that spun around really fast, making a loud noise, and then shot up into the air.

Most people went to watch the fireworks.  Joshua and I stayed home; he needed to sleep and doesn't love loud things.  He might be old enough next year.

The fireworks took a while to start, and in the mean time Ben took this picture of Isaac.  When they looked at it Ben thought it looked like Isaac ate something sour, which tickled his funny bone for the next five minutes.

Tuesday: one of those posts

The day started by going to the new(ish) playground where Aunt CC works.  She was able to come say hi and the kids loved it.  Joshua was almost too small for it, but I told Isaac that if he (Isaac) wanted to stay around longer he'd have to help Joshua a bit.  Joshua usually follows Isaac around and Isaac is fine with it, so I think this wasn't too hard of a request.  I finished a bunch of grading!

Isaac is working on a magic box.  There are no instructions, but it has constistently needed a box, a nail, and a pretzel.  I was hoping he'd forget about it, but it came out again today.  After getting it to fit, he decided it needed to be painted.

I gave Joshua a box to paint too.

I used the left over paint.

And then we received terrible news.

Monday: Lowes, don't smile

After a surprise stop at Zeeland Bakery (we were unexpectedly in the area, so why not stop?), we went to Lowe's to get a new faucet sprayer.  The boys saw the cart as we walked in, so we climbed in.  They had a blast.  They were such crazy drivers, swerving all over the place.  (The cart in the background was also pretty crazy and was getting the same thing we were getting!)

Ben has been playing the "whatever you do, don't smile" game with the boys lately if they're bored or cranky.  Joshua started doing it to Ben tonight.

We also went to see a magician at the library.  Isaac has been loving magic lately, and the library magic shows are usually quite good.  This one did not disappoint.  There was maybe a bit more, "Reading is good for you" and "Libraries are great places" than I would have preferred, but the slight of hand was still amazing.

Sunday: cleaning time

...or is it?