Friday: Dutch Village

We started out the day with a brief trip to the library.  Isaac didn't need any books, so I had him read.  Imagine my surprise when I find him reading like this.

Then we went to Dutch Village.  It was a slightly "cool" day (high in the low 70s) and we didn't have anything else on the calendar, so it was a good day.

It did get a bit busy, but we also left a bit after it got busy and came back in the late afternoon.

We went on the swings a lot.  One of the things I love about Dutch Village is you rarely need to wait in line for the rides.  (Well, as long as you plan the ferris wheel early or late in the day.)

We were the only ones on the Ferris Wheel for a bit, so we got an extra long morning ride.

Pumper ducks.  These make me laugh...the kids love them and it's just a bucket of water, some ducks, a pump, and some tube.  They pumped and pumped and pumped.

And then to the pumper train!  Well, we might have done the swings in the middle; as mentioned, we did them a lot.

I forgot to bring a snack so we bought some cookies.  Joshua especially loved them and *almost* choose more cookies instead of fudge later on in the day.

Swings!  We often sat on yellow and orange.

Thursday: easy day

 Today was a pretty easy day.  There were a few errands to run, but nothing big happened.

A lot of cleaning didn't happen either.  I'm not really sure where most of the day goes most days, but Ben is nice enough to not complain about it.

Wednesday: playground tour (Moran Park) and donut survey (Ryke's bakery)

 Moran park: I thought it was a great park.  The boys played on the teeter totter (second picture down) for about 20 min until Isaac almost got seriously hurt.  The play got slowly more and more out-of-control and although I was watching I wasn't really thinking.

Isaac: 7

Joshua: 9

Amanda: 5

Total: 21/25

We went to Ryke's bakery.  Most of the donuts were gone already, so we got other baked items also.  We used to go to a Ryke's bakery in Muskegon with my grandparents.  I don't actually remember much about it other than getting chocolate cake donuts.  I want to say the sprinkle donut reminded me of it, but it might be my imagination too.

We visited Grandma Hilldore and did our schoolwork there.  Joshua read to her and she gave Isaac his spelling words.  It was a good way to get her involved and have the school work done too.

Tuesday: half birthday

 We had Isaac's half birthday party today.  As birthday parties go, it wasn't awesome.  We put up streamers.  We got a cake.  The grandparents came over.  But that was about all.  Isaac loved it though.  He told me later it was probably the best day he's had since the start of COVID.

Monday: errands

Today was errand day.  It's been a while since we've done more than the minimum amount, so it took a bit.

One errand was to get a new stick.  The boys enjoyed carrying it together. :)

Friday: library

It was Friday, so as normal we went to the library.  For a change of pace we also did all the school work there.  (It was a rainy day, so it was a good place to go for that reason too.)

It was a lovely trip.  The librarians are so nice.  They did a book club where you read the book and then talk with one of the librarians about it...super low key.  It ended up being a good book, and the librarian I talked to said that most of the librarians liked it, which was unusual.  (Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson)

Joshua also got his library card.  I don't expect to use it much, because multiple accounts are annoying, but it's also a fun right of passage.

Joshua read Ms. Adrianne his Minecraft book that he wrote.

Thursday: playground tour - New Holland elementary - and strawberries

 We decided to pick strawberries this morning.  Isaac has wanted to do it, and Joshua didn't take much convincing.  (Joshua also found the berries delicious, so that was a bonus.)

The weather was perfect.  So perfect that we ended up going to a playground too.  The temperature was just right, the sun was just right, and the wind was just right.  

Isaac: 9 - something hurt his hands

Joshua: 10

Amanda: 4.5 - no sitting in the shade, no bathrooms.  But there was a lovely path that I could walk and I took advantage of that...especially since I didn't have my book.  The play stuff was pretty fun too.

Total: 23.5/25