Monday: summer is fun

I did some work today.  Groceries.  A load of laundry.  A load of dishes.  Actually making dinner.  Ignoring the rest of my to do list.

But I did a lot of fun stuff today too!  We went to Tunnel Park with some friends.  I took a nap.  We went to the Bookish Olympics at the library.

I got the most pictures at the library, so that's what I'll talk about this most today.  It was a drop in event, so we went at our own pace.

One event was book tower building.  The kids had the tallest tower when we left.  They worked well together.

Then book discus.  They took old books and let people throw them as far as possible.  It was fun.  There was one book that definitely went the farthest.

And in other news, there are a lot of boxes around because no one is cleaning them up.  The cats enjoy them.

Sunday: birthday

Today was Joshua's birthday and he was all about it.  He patiently waited for gifts until after church, but was pretty done after that.

Isaac went on a wrapping spree one day and made him all sorts of presents, including one with four Lego eyes, one with one Lego 1x1 plate, and one with a rock.

Snacksalotl was a big hit from Nathan and Liz.

While a few of these are Isaac's, I don't dare look in his bed anymore; I'm not sure how there's room for him.

Back row: Snacksalotl, Gnome (Isaac), Sven, Pluto

Fourth row: Steve (Isaac), Creeper, Pickachu, ??, Glitch

Third row: Tiger, Giraffe (Isaac), Grey Bear, Elephant, Blue Bear

Second row: Catpachino, Square*

First row: Poke Ball, Otter, Spark**

Not pictured: Giraffe2, because he isn't allowed out of Joshua's bed so that Giraffe and Giraffe2 don't get mixed up

*I made Square, which is really a poor rectangle, one night when all the lovies with sateen were lost.  It was a five minute project, because it was bed time.  I'm still rather surprised it's still around.

**Spark was lost behind the printer for about five years.  Lost, but not forgotten.  There was great rejoicing by Joshua when he was found.  

I made Joshua play outside for a little bit because he's been inside a lot this weekend.  Then it started to rain.  We decided to stay outside.  Then it started to rain hard, so we hurriedly packed up.

Saturday: rock climbing competition

This morning Isaac had a rock climbing competition in Grand Rapids.  His coach said that Isaac should be in the beginner category.  He flashed (completed on the first try) nine of the ten beginner routes and took three tries on the last one.  The video below was the finish of the hard one; it is definitely better with sound.

Anyway, since that took less than half the time to do those routes, Isaac started to do the intermediate routes.  These were the routes that he had the most fun with.  There was one that everyone has falling off of on the third hold (left foot in picture below).  Then one person figured it out and apparently there was a foot twist that Isaac needed to do.  A few tries later, he got it!

Then there was about 30 seconds left, but if you were on the wall you could finish your attempt.  Isaac started a pink one that he had gotten half way up earlier.  Time was called when he was about half way up and he went on to finish it!  It was a great way to end the morning.

Later, we got this fun text:

We had discussed the possibility of this happening, but decided the drive would be too much for just standing on a podium.  Also, we didn't get the text until 3:55pm, which would make the 4pm arrival rather hard.  

In completely different news, I solved the Mini NYT crossword puzzle in a record time!  I think my previous record was 35 seconds and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to go much faster than 17 seconds.

Friday: blueberries and computers

 We went blueberry picking with Aunt C this morning.  The picking was fine.  I somewhat bribed them with ice cream because they weren't very excited about it.  Isaac shared his with me, so that was nice.

Ben had found a new computer for Aunt C too, so we got that started after picking.  I went over in the afternoon to finish getting stuff setup.  I think it went well!  The internet connected well, the printer connected after I turned it on, and we got the bookmarks set up.  

Thursday: home

We're home.  I was supposed to be all productive and stuff today but instead went to a playground with friends and took and nap and went rock climbing with Isaac.

It was a very nice day, even if the big chores were ignored.

Sunday: made it

We stayed in a hotel last night so the trip today wasn't too long.  While the breakfast was delicious, the walls were thin and there was a team staying there that wasn't very quiet.  Needless to say, I didn't sleep well.  However, we did all bring our pillows because the pillows at hotels are always the wrong size and uncomfortable. 

We got to the water park without any problems.  We knew it from wouldn't be ready for us quite yet, but we could still use the park.  We only went on about 2/3 of the rides, but they were fun!  The lines weren't bad at all, so we often found ourselves doing one ride multiple times.  I guess the worst part is that the background noise is really loud, so I couldn't hear anything that people were trying to say. 

The guys did the FlowRider.  I have some good videos, but only have pictures of Isaac's and Joshua.

We briefly went to Tom Foolerys too.  They have some little attractions and an arcade.  Isaac enjoyed the climbing wall... First it took him a minute, the next round 40 sec, and then 28 sec.  Then he climbing it without using any of the holds, because, obviously. 

We're also meeting some friends here for several of the days, so that has been really nice too 

Saturday: odd things

 Joshua moved around the Lego sets: the penguin is trying to help the baby giraffe get to its mom and not be eaten. 

Ben showed this box to me and Joshua: 

Then on the count of three had us say the name. 

A: su oso.  J: assassin 

A: what!??  That isn't even close 

B: hahaha. Joshua saw this: