The Summer in Review: Vacation! (Part 2)

My favorite memories from this summer are when I shared things from my childhood with my kids. Like Uncle Bill's farm on July 4. So a big part of our vacation was spending time with my Grandparents (the kids' Great-Grandparents).

The right start for every stay at Ma & Granddad's: pretzels!


And then a trip to Alfano's. I've lived/worked a lot of places: DC, West Palm, Chicago, etc. But never- let me repeat, NEVER- have I eaten pizza as good as this. If you are ever in the Rockford area and want to try to best pizza in the world, send me a message and I will send you directions!


Moses didn't eat the pizza (*sigh*), but he did have fun with Granddad.


And after Alfano's: Mix Park!


My cautious little boy has grown up so much this year!




And after a good bath, the kids had fun spending time in the family room with Ma & Granddad:


And then... MA'S BROWNIES!!!


Hosanna didn't get brownies, but she did get to play in the nursery where so many grandbabies have played before!


Of course, we had a delicious breakfast by Ma the next morning. Hosanna wanted to share her breakfast with Ma:


We've been wanting to take our little cowboy on a Wild West vacation, and fortunately there was a special festival that weekend at one of the state parks. Here the kids try out one of numerous teepees:


One of the highlights was a real Native American dance circle:


It got Hosanna's attention!


Moses wasn't too keen on the noise, but ZuZu really got into the "Indian dancing":


Another highlight: getting to go INSIDE the Blackhawk statute!




My little Indians:




And what would a trip to Ma & Granddad's be without...

Visiting the store...


and Aunt Cherri's pool!


It was truly a vacation we will remember forever. The kids were good and so joyful. The perfect trip!

The Summer in Review: Vacation! (Part 1)

For months, Moses has been watching his friends go on vacations and saying, "I wish I could go on vacation...." Not in a "I want-I want-I want" sort of way, but in a heart-breaking sort of way. The last time we went on vacation, he was 18-months old- and I was in meetings 8 hours a day (so, if you don't count a work vacation as a vacation, he hasn't been on a vacation since he was 6 weeks old).

I had a lecture coming up at Trinity International University in July, so we decided to make a vacation out of it. After my lecture, we hit the pool! A MUST on any vacation.


The next day we went to a children's museum that has made Parents Magazine top 10.

Moses favorite part: the cars and the tracks


One of ZuZu's favorite parts: the "vet's office." I realized early on I was going to have to let our kids actually TOUCH things other kids had touched. Hard for me...


They even helped "build a house." Something else I learned early on: We were going to have to obnoxiously protect our kids from the other kids there. I realize we've been living in Mayberry for the last 4.5 years... but good grief! These kids were AWFUL. So were their parents. In this picture, the girl behind them is ready to start screaming because Kurt wouldn't let her steal the beanbags the kids were using. Seriously- kids would come up and just take things out of my kids' hands!


Another one of the favorites:


The water room was also a hit! And very, very wet. Good thing we brought extra clothes!




They even had special areas for babies!


Do-it-yourself face paint. Moses went with "war paint."


ZuZu had a little help. :)


My favorite: watching the kids on the stage, watching themselves on a tv




Then we went outside and through a tunnel, where more fun awaited!


Like "painting"!

So how do you end a day of play? In the hot tub, of course! AND, this is another MAJOR milestone for our little sensory wonder Moses. Considering he used to SCREAM if his bath water was anything but icy-cold, we never imagined he would get in a hot tub!

Part 2 is coming tomorrow!

The Summer in Review: Part 1 of ?

Let's play catch-up! It has been a FULL summer. I should have been blogging all along, but we've had a lot on our minds this summer. So between now and Tuesday (the first day of Kindergarten!) I'm going to try to hit some of the highlights.

Let's start with Memorial Day weekend and a trip to Hannibal. Note: That Friday, I tore the ligaments in my ankle away from the bone. I hobbled along in an air cast... the prescription drugs helped much! :)

Because our favorite train store is now closed, we started with a train museum:


Ringing the bell:


Sheer joy!


"Why am I doing this?"


Then a picnic by the river:




Followed by some mini-golf...


and a train ride! "ALL ABOARD!"


We ended the day with a trip to our favorite popcorn place. ZuZu entertained the entertainers with her dancing:


The day just wouldn't have been complete without a cheese-popcorn-face-and-styrofoam-cup-hat picture:

What I did on my spring vacation, Part II

Spent time with family:

Rode a horse:

Stuffed a cat:

Sang happy birthday (for a third time :) ):

Went swimming:

Became exhausted and came home. :)