Bob had his one business trip a year last week. I was less than thrilled. It worked out that Ollie had been asking to go see his friend Rylie who lives in Leavenworth with some great friends of ours that we met in NC. Unfortunately, Rylie got hand, foot and mouth a day or two before we were to arrive. I was bummed and dreading the days. My parents both work full time and with Lilah having leukemia we couldn't go there either. So, at the last minute on Wednesday before Bob was to leave for Minneapolis, the boys and I decided to go. Bob was a bit apprehensive since he thought I'd be annoyed when we didn't get to see him. Luckily, I had realistic expectations going into the trip and so it was an amazing time!
We are so blessed! On Wednesday evening, we had dinner with a couple of old friends--Jamie (best friend from high school) and Holly (we lived together in England). Unfortunately, I didn't take a single picture! IT was so nice to catch up. It's been almost a year since I last saw them at Holly's wedding.
Thursday was my designated "let's just hang out and see what happens" day. For those of you who know me, you know I often say, "Let's just throw it up in the air and see where it lands." It's like my motto. Schedules make me feel constricted. (I do, however, keep the boys on a good eating and sleeping schedule.) The only thing I needed to accomplish was to go to a store and get some supplies. To cut down on costs, we walked to a nearby Target and bought lunch stuff, snacks and a few necessities we forget. I also brought cereal and milk.
After Target we went to the pool. I brought Ollie's life jacket which was awesome! There is no way I could of had them both by myself in the pool. Their favorite activity was jumping in. Dawson would say, "Jump. Splasssshhh." When we got out, the boys walked back to the room and experienced the shower. This became the next best thing to the pool. I had to drag them out or coerce them with snacks and tv.
I'm not a big tv person. We don't watch much but while on vacation, I decided that I was going to let it go. If we were in the room and the boys asked, I turned it on. They pretty much got whatever they wanted the whole time. I am paying for that now but it was worth it!
Lunch was had, naps were taken and then we ventured out to find a park. We actually found 3 playground within about 10 minutes. The boys played and played before heading back to get supper at the hotel.
On Friday, we hit the Como Zoo. It is free! I love that. Ollie wanted to see two things: polar bears and wolves. Unfortunately, the wolves were hiding in the woods and those we couldn't see. He correctly identified the pygmy marmosets. Who knew? Dawson was thrilled to watch the "Moonkees and the mingos (monkeys and flamingos). On the way out, I told them each they could pick a toy. Ollie wanted an Andrewsarchus. Really kid? Where am I supposed to find that?! For those of you who don't know, an Andrewsarchus is a prehistoric carnivore with huge jaws. We didn't find one but he was satisfied with his crocodile and Dawson with his penguin. Luckily, they are young enough to steer towards a particular area so we kept the total under $10. After the zoo, we walked back to the car and ate lunch in the beautiful park. Then the boys played on the playground along with about a million other kids from some local schools. I was thankful for the bright shirts I had put o the boys!
Saturday was my favorite day. We were supposed to be meeting my parents with my niece Bella but unfortunately Bella got sick and they couldn't make it. Although the boys were thoroughly disappointed, we powered through. We had to check out of our hotel by 12 noon. We hit the pool one last time and then I packed us up and we headed to the Minnesota Children's Museum. It is fabulous! I absolutely love it. I was nervous because we couldn't pick Bob up until 5. I wasn't sure what to do about Dawson's nap. As luck would have it, he feel asleep on the way there and slept in the stroller for about an hour. They had so much fun. Ollie and Dawson starred in a music video, shopped at the grocery store and pet a rat. The rat really grossed me out but Dawson laugh and squealed and danced around he was so excited.
Ollie made a friend while we were in Earth World. He and Johnny ran around and pretended to be every animal possible while Dawson splashed in river and played with a pretend salamander. They also both World Works. They pretended to work at a factory and sent blocks up the conveyor belt and stacked them on the truck. They also loved the water area. The worst part about the museum was leaving! It was too much fun.
It was such a great week. I love spending time with my boys and I hate the thought of them growing up. I don't want to miss a single moment.
I don't know why but I always have song lyrics in mind when I name posts so forgive that! I really love summer. It is definitely my absolute favorite time of year even if I am pregnant every other year. Yesterday, I was outside in the sandbox with Ollie thinking about how nice it is to be comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt. I have bundling up and still freezing my heiney off during the winter. It is unpleasant indeed.
Another thing I love about summer is the reckless abandon that comes to our schedule. I get so tired of "on this day we have this and that on that..." and so on and so forth. I like just doing what we feel like. Some mornings that means we play around here before going to the pool. Some mornings we have an impromptu playdate. Some mornings we walk to the park. Most evenings my kids are up later than usual and most mornings they sleep in. It's relaxed. It's fun. It's about living in the moment and just being kids.
I'm a huge fan of Popsicles and ice cream, of grilling out and fruit salad. And those things are abundant in the summer. I love summer rain storms and splashing in mud puddles. I love the park, the pool, the zoo. I love walks and visiting with the neighbors. I love the shrieks you here outside late at night from children still out playing.
