Vacation Vacation Vacation

We have been gone off and on for the entire month of July.  It has been fun, but oh-so-busy!
I have finally figured out why the whole "Michigan Up North" thing is a thing.  To be honest, I didn't get it when I went to Lake Michigan.  It was cold.  There were a ton of rocks.  I had just moved from Virginia Beach/Norfolk, so "the beach" there was much better.

But a week later, we met up with Paul's brother and went to Houghton Lake in the middle of Michigan at a cabin.  It was gorgeous.  The water was lovely, and we slept in a room on the second with a deck overlooking the lake.  (We left the sliding door open all night and fell asleep to the sound of waves!)  And no sharks to watch out for.   We didn't have time for a bonfire, but I could envision it.  The evening was cool and relaxing, and the sunset was gorgeous.

A week later, we headed up to Mackinac Island.  Again, it was so nice to be near the water, and though I am usually not into history, I loved learning about the past having to do with this place.  I started reading a Teen Fiction book set in the area and back around the war of 1812, and I couldn't put it down.  (There are three books in the series and #2 is set in London!)

Now we are home.  And I cancelled all events.  No camps, no playdates, nothing scheduled.  

The kids and I really needed it, and we are enjoying our last bit of freedom before the school year starts.  Today we went on a long walk, going where the wind took us.  (That turned out to be a convenience store for treats, and then on to their school to check out the new playground equipment, stopping by a neighbors on the way home.)  We collected acorns for a project and picked up sticks along the way, like an old school summer.  By evening here in Mid-Michigan, the winds have turned cool, and we can feel fall right around the corner.  I even had to pull out my very cozy, pink fuzzy bathrobe, which I thought I wouldn't need for at least another month.  Enjoy the end of summer, folks.

Road Trip To Iowa 2105

I thought I was super mom... Pinteresting car activities, putting together little bags for the kids, prepacking snacks...  Let's just say, the kids don't end up picking things you think are a hit, and yet they lose their head over something you think is insignificant. (Sticky hand that I bought in 2007 for a long plane trip is a perfect example.)

Soleil did like the binder I put together with pencil zip cases, filled with stickers, tiny smelly markers, post it notes, and a mini watercolor kit that I picked up at Walmart an hour before we got on the road.  I think the smelly markers got the best mileage.  The Kindergarten book was mostly ignored.  Tate, on the other hand, wanted an Archie Comic.  And notebooks.

Sidenote:  Tate has been obsessed with notebooks his entire life.  If you a longtime reader, you know that he was addicted to Blues Clues when little, and from the moment he could hold one, a notebook has been his FAVORITE thing.  He hasn't grown out of that.  He recently went to the store, saw that notebooks were 17 cents a piece, and spent his own money to buy 18 EIGHTEEN of them.  I put them away, so that he doesn't bend them all up by December, only to ask for more for Christmas.  What does he write in his notebooks?  Everything.  Plants v Zombies scenarios, Angry Birds scenarios, diagrams, short stories, journal entries a la Diary of Wimpy Kid (these are my favorite, because they are hilarious.), lists, lists, lists.  

On the way to Iowa, we spent the night in Saugatuck and visited my dear friend, Jean.  It is on Lake Michigan, and we all really wanted to go to the beach.  It is gorgeous, but oh my, is it COLD.

We stopped at Crane's Restaurant on our way out of town.

Finally, we arrived in Iowa.  Paul is from there, and his best friends all live there.  We went for his high school reunion, and for his town's annual festival.  There was a lot of this:

And the younger generation version of the same thing:

Tate played mini golf, which is one of his favorite things to do. 

Soleil and I got out one afternoon to get a pedicure and to shop at the mall.  She wanted to ride like a baby, so I let her!

Tate was very happy to be with his Iowa friends. 

The big boys played video games as well.  They all went to see the movie, Pixels, and then were inspired to fire up the centipede when they got home. 

They didn't want to say goodbye!  Such a good trip. 

Summer Midpoint 2015

I can't even stop laughing at this.

Summer has been busy, and I had this plan to do lots of blogging.  You know,  because the kids would be home, quietly playing while I had tons of time to write witty things, and take lots of photos.  HAHAHAHAHA!  I love them home, but I have heard "MOM" about every 11 seconds since summer started.  We have been doing lots of fun things, though.  

Lots of Jumping.  We lucked out and showed up on half price day!

This contraption at the County Fair.  Scared at first, and then THRILLED.

Tate's opinion of the County Fair.
Too much mud, too many animals, loud midway... not his cup of tea. 

Instead of a party, Tate wanted to have a few friends over to play, and then to go out for frozen yogurt.  This turned into a little adventure, when the first fro-yo place was OUT of vanilla yogurt (the only flavor Tate eats.)  It was pretty fun to bring a van full of excited boys to downtown East Lansing,  as we were on the search for vanilla.  AND THEN THE SECOND PLACE WAS OUT, TOO!  The college kid behind the counter felt sorry for me, when she saw the desperation in my eyes, and said, "Hold on a second, let me see what I can do."  She restarted the machine (while I silently prayed), and then it worked!  And she gave me a free yogurt at the end, since again, she felt sorry for me!

Cat sitting and Dog sitting

A lot of this.  

Frankenmuth, MI

So I thought Frankenmuth was just a big Christmas store and a Famous Chicken Dinner.  Boy was I wrong!! It is the cutest Bavarian looking village in the middle of Michigan.  We didn't even get to the Christmas store, as there were so many places to go in the one short day we were there.  We also happened to show up on a day that had live music outside, which added to the ambiance. The kids and I went with my mom and dad, and had a great time.

Fairy Gardens everywhere!

Summer 2015 has started!!

I love summer!!
I am very happy to have my kiddos home, and we have a list of things we want to do.  I have mentioned before that I theme out my weeks.  The first week, however, is for just chilling.  In fact, yesterday was our official "Couch Potato Day".  I let them watch tv/play games most of the day.  (Full disclosure: They were fighting by 9:00a...)

We have limited screen time, and I believe in it for a variety of reasons.  But I also believe in "treats".

 Sidenote:  Have any of you read Sarah Silveman's Bedwetter Book?  She writes a whole section on "treats" and having something to look forward to, and how if you have them all the time, they are no longer treats.  I love her!

The kids didn't even complain when I had to go to the grocery store, since we had a very empty refrigerator.

Here are some of the other things we have been up to:

Soleil's Chocolate Making Kit

My official Taster

Inspired by: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3_dV-e4d9c

The ones we made for Uncle Mikey!

Geocaching at the MSU Children's Garden

MSU Dairy Store for Ice Cream.  A Summer requirement!

Planning for Summer 2015

I am sooo excited!! I don't have to move this summer!! I have been planning for all of the fun things to do around here, and I started by theming the weeks to get us started.

I just picked themes that I thought the kids would like, and wrote them in my calendar on the first day of the week.  From there, my eyes were open for anything and everything that relates.

Week 1 is ANIMAL WEEK.  I went through all of our books and toys and pulled out anything that would relate.  Then, I have some craft kits put away and pulled out that related.  I added animal related activities to the list (zoo, pet store, MSU animal farms), and lastly went to the Pinterest, of course!!

Additions:

• Sand table, filled with toy animals and colored sand.
• Printes out mazes and puzzles that are animal themed for Tate.  
• ALLLLLL of their stuffed animals used to decorate the living room the Monday of the week with them.  (I think even Tate will get a kick out of this.) 
• Stickers in my stash that are animals.

And then I had to hide it all so they don't see it before the week, because that is part of the fun!  (It is all stuffed into the bottom basket.)

Our other themed weeks are:
BEACH WEEK, TRAINS & PLANES WEEK,  SPY WEEK (always a favorite), SCIENCE WEEK, GAMES & PUZZLES WEEK

The other thing that I do, is pick a Library day (Monday)and a Park Day (Thursdays), and put them on the calendar.  Now, we don't follow everything on the calendar, we just use it as a guideline.  We may not do a single thing listed, OR change entirely for the day because someone has asked us to do something.  The plan and the calendar just helps us look forward to things, plan with other folks, and to help avoid the dreaded "Mom! Can I have screen time!"

I would love to hear about your summer plans.

Embracing Michigan-Blueberry Picking!

I knew that when I moved to Michigan, (it being my forever home after moving a bazillion times), I planned on settling in, listening to the seasons, and doing what the locals do.  This time of year here is blueberry season!

My kids were hooked after about 5 minutes in.  Tate said "I now want to be a farmer... but without the farm house."  He doesn't even eat bluerries.  He does, however, love to run around free, along the rows, as the breeze blows.  (It was only about 70F, and such delightful weather.) 

They enjoyed it so much, we went twice this week!  I can't wait until apple season...

We picked with The Country Mill in Charlotte, MI.

This is just a portion of the 5 lbs of blueberries we picked in under an hour.