Vacation Time

Last month we took an adventurous family vacation to Sheridan, IL. We went to the same resort last year and had a good time, so we figured we would give it another try.

On the first day of our vacation we stopped off again at the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, IN. The girls enjoyed the train ride and our trip this year wasn't cut short by an impending thunderstorm, so we were able to see some parts of the zoo that we didn't get to last year. Mia's favorite spot was the prairie dogs. She plopped herself on the ground and watched them eat their lunch. I think she would have stayed there for an hour if we had let her.

On Sunday, we had a lazy day and enjoyed the mini-golf course at the resort in Sheridan and hit up a local park. The day was capped off with a movie night and some good treats.

On Monday, we headed north to Rockford, IL to visit their science/children's museum. Once we got past all the 'boring' science exhibits and made it to the younger section, the kids had a blast. I think we could have dropped Amelia off at opening and dragged her out at closing. We hope to make a return visit next year. In fact, the girls were asking about when they could return to that museum the rest of the vacation. The cutest exhibit was the auto mechanic shop where kids could change the oil, replace a rusty muffler, and other basic maintenance.

On Tuesday, we headed to Brookfield Zoo. We went last year and weren't planning on going back; however Allison kept talking about it all year, especially the polar bears. As we approached the exit for the zoo we noticed a billboard for the zoo that said "Kids Free Day" and listed some dates. We were really hoping that it wasn't for that day. I would have very gladly paid for a child's ticket, especially since we already bought three tickets on Ebay.  We arrived just as the zoo was opening and the lot was already filling up, so we knew we had come on one the kids free day.

The zoo was a complete madhouse! By the time we got to the penguin house, I think there were well over 100 strollers parked outside that building alone. Luckily the zoo is so big that it helped spread the crowds out.  Allison loved the dolphins and Amelia loved her shadow.

Allison had been saving up her money to buy a souvenir at the zoo. I thought for sure she would have picked out something polar bear related; however she was drawn to the pink penguin and was very proud that she bought it herself (with a little help from Mom and Dad).

On Wednesday, we had a low-key day and hung out at the resort. The girls loved the pool and Amelia really gained some confidence when it came to swimming.  We played lots of games and taught the kids how to play Uno, Twister, and Skipbo (or HIPPO as Amelia yelled out when she drew a Skipbo card).

On Thursday, rain forced us to change our plans of going to a children's garden, so we hit up the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville, IL instead. I was hoping that if we arrived after lunch and during naptime, we would miss some of the crowds; however it was so busy. It was total sensory overload. 

On Friday, we relaxed at the resort. Luckily the cooler weather held off since they were predicating mid-60's. However, it did get up to the mid-70's so we were able to go to the outdoor pool one more time. We also took a trip in town to play at a local playground and get some ice-cream treats. We stopped off at a roadside attraction that we always had to drive past. It was in honor of those that survived the "agricultural crash" of the 1980s. 

We had a great trip. It was much more relaxing than last year. We only made one idle threat to pack up and head home, where last year, there were several times that Brian and I debated about actually doing so.  It helped that the girls were older and they weren't waking up at 5:30 am. On the drive home we already started planning next year's trip. Watch out Lake Geneva, WI, here we come!

Summer Bucket List

The "G" Family Summer Bucket List
At the beginning of summer I was going to make a list of some stuff I wanted to do with the kids before school started for Allison.  I then came across a summer bucket list on a local, family-focus website. I used their list as a guide and adjusted accordingly to fit our family. We had lots of fun checking off items on the list. We started with a bang in June and did several things the first several weeks. However, then the heat wave kicked in and pretty much brought things to a grinding halt for several few weeks. We were able to attack most of the items on the list. I marked the ones that we didn't with an *. Some of these things we still can do in the fall, or it will give us something to look forward to next summer.

• Go to Reeds Lake*never made it
• Pick berries
• Catch a Whitecaps Game
• Visit Frog Hollow Park
• Beach at Holland State Park
• Go on a nature walk at Blanford Nature Center* - Hopefully we will take a fall walk
• Visit Calvin Nature Center* - Hopefully we will take a fall walk
• Happy Hour at Sonic for slushies
• Camp
• Ride bikes to ice cream shop
• Visit a new ice cream shop
• Make homemade popsicles
• Visit Millennium Park
• Fly a kite
• Walk along pier at Grand Haven*, play at Imagination Station Playground, and Ride the Trolley* - I couldn't find info about the Trolley online. By the time I found some info, it was end of the season. And, I still don't trust the girls on the pier. Hopefully next year.
• Take a road trip to Ft. Wayne Zoo*- The hot weather in July prevented this.If Allison wasn't in school we would have considered a fall trip.
• Run through the sprinkler
• Have a water balloon fight
• Visit the farmer’s market
• Run through the fountain at Tassell Park in Cascade*  Never made it
• Light sparklers at 4^th of July* - After hanging out in 100 degree temps all day and traveling, we called it an early night and went to bed before dark.
• Find a park you haven’t been to before (park in Jenison)
• Play at the Children’s Garden at FMG
• Go to a Tuesday night concert at FMG
• Have a picnic at the airport
• Go to Festival
• Surprise friends by bringing them ice cream snacks - *Had plans but had to reschedule at the last minute
• Plant flowers
• Catch fireflies
• Go for donuts for breakfast
• Paint the driveway with water (did this at FMG instead)
• Wash the car and bikes
• Have a sleep over in the living room (We didn't to this in the living room, but the girls shared a bed in Allison's room often since there is air in there. The girls also had a slumber party at Nana's with their girl cousins.
• Go to Chuck E Cheese for Allison’s birthday
• Complete summer reading program
• GO ON VACATION!

We're Getting Married!

A few weeks ago the girls came downstairs all dressed up. Allison told me that she was getting married. I asked to whom and Allison said to Amelia. So I officiated the ceremony where the girls promised to be nice to each other and to always love one another. At the end, I declared they were sisters forever and they hugged.  We had to repeat the ceremony later that night when Dad came home.

 

A Birthday Celebration

Allison celebrated her 5th Birthday on July 26. She was very excited about her birthday this year and talked about it for months. She knew she wanted an Ariel birthday (Little Mermaid), so we obliged.

On her actual birthday, we celebrated with the immediate family. Amelia gave Allison the presents she had picked out from the dollar store. I made pancakes using our letter "A"  and birthday cake cookie cutters. For dinner, she chose Branns Steakhouse and Grill, simply because they have the Tootsie Roll machine. When you order a kids meal, you get a token to get some candy from the claw machine. Allison made out like a bandit with a ton of Tootsie Rolls when we went for my birthday, so she wanted to go back for her own birthday dinner too.  

A few days later we had a small birthday celebration at our house with close family and friends. We recruited my niece to do the face painting, the kids searched for lost treasures in the sand, pinned the tail on the donkey, and everybody ate some cake and ice cream. In all, we had a great time and Allison was excited to be the star of the show.

 After the party, the girls tested out Allison's new gifts.

Big Girl Bedrooms

We finally switched the girls from toddler beds to their "big girl beds."  The conversion was a long time coming, however we were very hesitant since we would be losing out on valuable play space in their bedrooms. We have been slowly picking up things for their new rooms since late last fall, so it was exciting to see it all finally come together.  Allison was very excited for her new room. 

Amelia, on the other hand, liked her new bed, but she wasn't too happy with us for getting rid of her rocking chair. To make room for her new full-sized bed, we had to get rid of the glider chair in Amelia's room.  I didn't realize how attached she was to this chair until we got rid of it. She was so mad when she came home from a weekend at Nana and Papa's house and discovered the chair was gone.  When we told her that we had to get rid of the chair to make room for her new big girl bed, Amelia responded that the chair was gone but there was no big girl bed. She made sure she pointed that out for the next two weeks while we finished getting her room ready.  Once Mia saw the new room, she was quick to point out where we could have put the rocking chair (so what that it would have completely blocked the closet door and literally would have had to have been strategically wedged in between her bed and the wall). She has come around and now loves her new room.

It was a Happy and HOT 4th of July (only a month late!)

We celebrated another wonderful 4th of July with the family. It was a hot one, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees by mid-afternoon.  The main road leading into the town where we watch the parade was already closed off by the time we arrived, so we had to walk almost a mile to get to our parade spot. 

Amelia's number one goal was to collect enough candy to restock her treat bag; she was at the end of her Easter candy (finally)!  While Amelia walked out with a big bag of candy, she lost most of it due to "flooding". The candy was starting to melt, so I threw it in the cooler so that it would survive the rest of the day in the car.  However, the plastic bag had a hole so when the ice started to melt, the water seeped into the bag and flooded the Tootsie Rolls and other goodies.  After getting home and when the girls weren't looking, I spilt Allison's stash between their two treat bags.  

After the parade in the morning we headed to my sister's house for lunch, swimming and games. Despite the intense heat, it was a great afternoon.  By the end of the day, the girls were happy to be home and relax in their rooms while playing with their Leapster games.