A Trip to the Children's Museum

This just opened this past spring and I've been wanting to take the kids to it. It's mostly geared towards Zach's age with Megan being the oldest that would enjoy it. There were 4 of us: Zach, Megan, Kristin and myself.

The first thing you come to is this big climbing structure that Zach LOVED! It was pretty neat too, here's just one of the many pictures I took while him and Megan were inside.

There are different exhibits that you explore. Kristin found one that tells you how much water you use during a 10 minute shower. I told her to multiply that by 3 since she takes such long ones.

There's an area that has all different types of blocks and little construction worker outfits.

In "The Power of Me" exhibit one of the things you could do was a rock wall. There were different games you could play with it but my kids just wanted to climb.

This was a human sized puzzle. You were supposed to press start then race to put all the pieces in before the buzzer went off. It was like a cross between the two games Operation and Perfection because when the buzzer went off the pieces popped out.

Also in "The Power of Me" exhibit there was a boat you could row to get your heart rate up. There's a screen in front of you that shows you going down the river.

Kristin kept saying she wanted to go in the money room, she was referring to the "Bank on It" exhibit. There she found this stock market game that she loved. Paul would be so proud. She even went back to it later and played it while Zach and Megan did something else that's how much she liked it.

Zach looked like he liked the abacus that was made out of money but I think he was just trying to figure out how to take the money off!

There was a mini tree house and next to it was a whole bunch of foam bricks. You were supposed to finish the house. With the look on her face I just had to post this picture!

Kristin got a little creative...she made stairs!

This boat didn't do anything, I think it was supposed to since there was a screen but it just stayed blank. Zach loved it anyway. After taking this picture he had both Kristin and I sit down on the bench so he could take us all to the park.

They even got to go fishing. There was another place above them that they could fish from too and then you could sort your fish into different bins: "Catch and Release," "Dinner," "Trash," and "Recycle." I was wondering about the trash and recycle bins until Kristin caught a soda can and a boot!

Here comes Zach's second favorite area, the interactive stream table. Here he is playing with just one area of it. You could rearrange the plastic rectangles to make mazes for the boats. You could also block the water from coming down thus creating a nice pool of water.

I finally got him out of there and we went to check on Kristin, she had snuck back over to play the stock market game. There was no one at the lemonade stand so Zach made me lots of lemonade. There was a little cash register too and after making me my lemonade he charged me $40 for my glass. It was really good lemonade too for $40!
I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get them out of there. It was a huge hit, even Kristin found things to do which was a surprise. It was such a hit that I texted Paul about getting a yearly membership. If I bought it that day I could apply our tickets towards it. I got approval :) so that was a done deal. I bought the membership while Zach and Megan climbed the "Stratosphere" again. So if anyone wants to go see what the museum is like let us know, either Paul or I have to be there but we can take any 3 people we want.

Make a Monster Truck

I never knew Lowes did this until I stumbled across it one day but they do kids workshops where the kids build something and it's totally free. I signed Megan and Zach up for the Monster Truck one that was for today. How neat! It was very crowded and very noisy, about 40 kids were hammering away like this...
How they do it is that each kid gets a kit and a little kid-sized hammer and it's up to the parent to supervise and help your own child. Paul helped Zach and I semi helped Megan (she was pretty good about following the directions herself.) The only pictures I got though are of Zach since he was on the other side of the table from me.

I was going to get a picture of them holding their finished projects but never did but from the picture below you can tell what they were building. The project even came with two paper cars that you could fold and then smash with your monster truck.

When they were both done they showed their finished projects to the person running it and they each got a patch, certificate and a coupon for a free jr. frosty at Wendy's. I noticed that several other kids were wearing aprons with patches sewed on from past projects. I'll have to check into that for the future. All in all it was a neat project that took probably no more than 40 minutes to do. I think Zach really liked it.

Afterwards we walked around the store, mainly looking for an umbrella for our patio table.

We found one so Paul and Zach went to go get a cart and they come back with this...

I really think he thought he was driving it too!

Megan's soccer scrimmage

Megan's camp ended today with a scrimmage game and an ice cream party. She of course made a friend while she was there... They exchanged phone numbers (and I met the other girl's mom) so it wouldn't surprise me if they don't get together sometime this summer.

They played their game for about 3o minutes, here's a few "action" shots of her:

Before digging into the ice cream they sit down as a group for their last awards presentation. Megan didn't win anything today but her new friend did.
They ate their ice cream and that was it. Megan's already looking forward to next year's camp.

Happy 15th Birthday Lauren!

She spent the day hanging out at home with her boyfriend. I did take her (and him) to go pick out an ice cream cake from Coldstone. Then we went to a different ice cream place so they could get cones. Coldstone ice cream is good but the local place's ice cream is homemade and it is delicious! If only they did cakes...

So for dinner Lauren wanted to go to Hibachi so that's what we did. The birthday person gets to pick the restaurant (within reason) so all 7 of us had a very good dinner and watched it being cooked in front of us. At least this time Zach wasn't scared of the fire like he was when he was little.

Then it was cake time. It was a cookie dough supreme cake that she picked out.

It wasn't bad but I think I prefer Coldstone's ice cream cones over their cakes. Next time I think we'll stick with a Carvel ice cream cake and save some money, even Lauren agreed on that.

My baby is now 15!

Father's Day

Paul can now lounge on our deck in his new hammock!
After seeing an ad in the paper I went over to Lowes this past Saturday to check them out. I decided to get one but then it was a matter of how the heck am I going to get this thing in my car? I was told that someone would meet me at the hammocks to help me but after waiting and waiting I just decided I'd better do it myself if I ever wanted to get out of there. I grabbed one of those flat carts and somehow managed to get that 80 pound box up on it. Lauren was with me and she did hold the cart steady so it wouldn't move on me so that helped.

Then I had to get that box into my car which of course I did but there was no way I was getting that thing out by myself. So Paul ended up getting his present a day early. :)

That thing is huge too! It's 9 1/2 feet long and takes up a good portion of the deck but it is pretty comfortable. If there were no kids around I bet you could fall asleep in it.

So now it's Sunday and Paul gets the cards and presents from the kids. Going from left to right the cards are from: Megan, Kristin, Zachary (with help) and Lauren.

Megan made a cute measuring tape from a box and some construction paper that when you pull it out it says, "You rule dad!"

Apparently the hammock is not only for Paul but the kids too. They've been enjoying his hammock while he's at work, especially Megan, she's been doing a lot of reading.

Once it gets a little cooler out I'm planning on doing the same thing as Megan, grabbing a book and relaxing. Hopefully Zach takes a nap when I do...

Soccer Camp

I don't have any pictures yet but Megan started her soccer camp this week. She's been so excited and has been talking about playing soccer regularly like Lauren. I'm not sure I'm ready for that one but at least she's getting to play some soccer this week.

Megan did this same soccer camp last year (I blogged about it), it's sponsored by a local church and they do the entire camp free for the community. Lauren has done this camp in the past too, she's too old for it now, and it does seem to be a really well run camp especially for being free. They're not pushy about their church either, they say at the beginning that all they want to do is see the kids have fun playing soccer. They do talk about different character strengths each day and today's was enthusiasm. The group leaders nominate someone from their group to win the character award every day and today guess who won from her group? Yep, Megan. She won for being the most enthusiastic. That award was right up her alley! The winners get a gatorade and Megan was so proud of it as we walked to the car. Of course the one day I don't have my camera with me...

Who knew washing a car could be so much fun?

Paul decided to wash his car today so of course Zach had to help.
He did a pretty good job too. He would put the brush in the soapy water, wash a little bit of daddy's car then get the hose and rinse the soap off. He loved using the hose.

He got everything and everybody wet around him. I tried to stay far away with the camera but he even got me a few times.

Until I looked at these pictures I didn't realize how much he likes to stick his tongue out!

Afterwards he came in and ate a great lunch and took a great nap. I don't know what happened to the old sprinklers I used to have for the girls but I think I'm going to have to buy a new one for him to play in this summer. He just loves water.

Our Annual Lunch

This year's end-of-school lunch was at Klondike Kate's. They are having an awesome deal right now, 2-course lunch specials for $10 plus kids 12 and under eat free in the summer! With my family we sure got a bargain with 3 of the kids getting free meals.

Lauren and I each did the 2-course special. She got a caesar salad and club sandwich with fries. I got french onion soup, a crab cake sandwich and sweet potato fries. Huge portions! I gave Kristin the choice of ordering the lunch special or getting the free kids meal. She chose the kids meal and got cheesy quesadillas with fries. Megan got the chicken fingers with fries and Zach got macaroni and cheese plus fries. All three of the kids meals included the soda and an ice cream sundae for dessert. Here's my happy bunch before our food came:
I'm so glad I took the picture when I did because when we first arrived there was no one there but within 20 minutes or so the place was packed. Here's a huge tip if you ever want to go eat lunch there during the week, arrive before 12:15!

Now to our critique of the place. Overall it received 4 thumbs up out of 5. I asked Zach if he wanted to give his lunch a thumbs up or thumbs down and he chose thumbs down. When I asked him why he replied, "because I didn't love it." I will say that his macaroni and cheese looked like it had come from a box, it didn't really look that appetizing. Everyone else's though looked good and we brought home tons of leftovers so overall their portions were on the larger side. Our 2nd tip: don't order the macaroni and cheese unless you especially like Kraft macaroni & cheese. The only other negative I would give the place was that once more people showed up the service got really slow. Not good if you have little kids like Zach.

On the up side though, not only did Lauren and I get a great deal and the other three ate for free, I used a coupon for 20% off. I think this has been one of the cheapest meals that we've done in a long time. In fact the waitress gave my coupon back to me so I'm thinking we may just have to do this lunch again this summer.

Time for a trip to the zoo...

The kids aren't even done school yet and we've started our summer activities. Last night was a trip to a local zoo, a very small zoo which I've blogged about before. The zoo that has hardly any animals and I only go there when I can get everyone in for a $1! This time I had a full minivan of kids that I took. It was myself, all 4 of my kids, Lauren's boyfriend and his little sister, 7 in total.

We spun our prize wheels when we first got in. Usually at least one of us wins something and this year it was Lauren, she won a $10 gift card to McDonalds. I guess she can treat her boyfriend to dinner one night!

Zach did a beanbag toss game.

At least the one cool animal they have at that zoo was up and walking around when we got there. I kept telling Zach all week that if he wasn't good I was going to feed him to the Tiger. He was a good boy!

Everyone watching the Tiger and Kristin trying to get a picture with her phone.

The goats were very active this time when the kids went into the petting zoo. They kept wanting to get out of the gates. Zach wasn't interested in petting them.

Part of the crew having an ice cream break. I guess it's finally time that I put a picture of Lauren's boyfriend on here since they have been going out for more than 3 months now. So here's Lauren and John, Megan and John's little sister Shania (not sure I spelled that right).

After seeing the whole 10 animals there and enjoying some food it was time to leave. The kids all threw pennies into the fountain by the parking lot and that was it.

Going back home was quick but getting to the zoo took forever. I sat in traffic for about 45 minutes due to an accident blocking 2 of the 4 lanes on I-95. I probably only went about 2 miles in that time but once we got past the accident we were at the zoo in no time. Next time I'll be sure to check the traffic reports before leaving!

King Zachary

Zach had earned enough "good boy coins" for a lunch out at Burger King today. Every time I catch him being good he earns one coin which he puts in a wooden treasure chest he painted. One way to get to Lauren's school takes us right by a Burger King so awhile ago I told him that if he saved 10 coins then he can use them to go have lunch there. Well he has saved 10 coins, quite a few times, but he's always used them to buy train stuff instead of doing lunch. That is until today when he reached 10 coins again and said he wanted to go to BK.

I had started the treasure chest/coin thing when he started not being good at preschool. I'm not much for bribes but this kid is different and if it takes earning coins to keep him good then so be it! One positive about it is that he's learning to save and to make choices so maybe when he gets older and has real money he won't be so quick to spend it.

She can see!

We went to pick up Kristin's new glasses today and the first thing she said as we were walking out is, "everything is so clear."
Her one eye was pretty bad so I guess things really are much clearer now.

I snapped this picture with my cell phone as we were waiting for a light to change. We emailed daddy and Lauren and of course had to send it to my email so I could upload it here. I think she looks older now.

Our fun night

Our town had its annual night where it blocks off the main street and all these vendors and entertainers line the sides. I always like to go and be there right at the beginning of it because about an hour into it there are so many people there that you can hardly walk down the street. There are so many high schoolers! This year it was: me, Zach, Megan, Lauren and her boyfriend. Kristin didn't want to go, she didn't want to walk even though I said I would buy her food. Usually you can get her to go anywhere if you feed her! But no, she opted to stay home and Paul was busy umpiring so he didn't go though I doubt he would have gone even if he had been home.

So we check out what's on Main street first, parked at one end and walked to the other. Then Lauren and her boyfriend go off to catch up with friends which left just Zach, Megan and I. We started walking back down the street and on the way stopped at all the different tables and by the time we got back to where we started we were overloaded with all this stuff that was given to us. We had balloons, water bottles, little packs of tissues and even a megaphone plus a whole slew of pencils, pens and lollipops. We had to make a trip back to the car just so I wouldn't have to carry everything around.

Once we made the car run then it was time to find something to eat. We had our choice of pretty much anything we wanted and would you know that Megan wanted a hotdog? So I get her hotdog and a bag of chips, Zach at this point said he didn't want anything. I got a bbq pork sandwhich with beach fries...yum! Still Zach said he didn't want anything. Megan and I both eat then we walk a little farther and there's a place that's giving away free hotdogs so I got Megan and Zach each one plus bought them 2 sodas. I told Zach he had to eat the hotdog in order to drink the soda and that hotdog was gone in no time! Here they are drinking their sodas:

(No, we aren't particularlyadvertising for Chris Coons. Kids will take any sticker they're offered, you'll see Zach with another one in later pictures.)

Zach walked over a rope bridge that some boyscouts made.

They had a firetruck that you could check out from all sides.

There was an organization that was giving out free sno cones and luckily my two kids were the last ones to get them because they ran out of the paper cones. (Darn, I really wanted one too, it was so hot out.) Megan got blue raspberry, Zach got grape.

Zach finished his before Megan was even halfway done so he danced in the street like this:

See what lots of sugar does to him! The sno cone was in addition to about 3 lollipops and a starburst because almost every table had a bowl of candy on it and he was very good at spotting them!

We sat down for a little while and listened to one of the bands performing. It was nice to rest our feet from all the walking. Here he is dancing again with yet another lollipop in his mouth!

The last thing we did was do the slide moon bounce. I saved this for the end because I knew if they did this first they would want to keep doing it. It did look like a lot fun.
Zach went flying down the slide.We met Lauren and her boyfriend by the moon bounce so once Zach and Megan were done we left. It was a pretty fun night and surprisingly Zach was pretty good for having so much candy!

Meet Pinchy (aka Tasha)

In 4th grade the kids elementary school do a unit on crayfish and when they're done they give the crayfish away to anyone that wants them. I let Lauren bring one home when she was in 4th grade, I let Kristin bring one home so of course I had to let Megan bring one home. So today after school I picked up Megan and her new little pet. The kids had named them all and this one was named Tasha but Megan wanted to change her name to Pinchy. I think that's what Lauren's crayfish was called too. I guess that's a pretty common name for something that has pinchers!

It's a feisty thing too and kind of big compared to the ones the other girls brought home. This crayfish is as big as Lauren's was after 3 years! (Yes, hers lived for 3 years, lucky me.) We put it in the same tank I used for Lauren's crayfish. I'm sure over the weekend Megan will have it decorated with shells and probably con me into buying some different colored rocks for the bottom.

It took her awhile but finally Megan picked it up. I had been waiting and waiting and waiting to get a picture of her holding it but gave up and put my camera away. I was busy doing other things when she calls for me and asks if I still want a picture. There she was holding it.

They are neat little creatures to watch, especially when they're eating. I'm just hoping that Megan's going to be the one to clean the tank every week and to feed it. I was the one to do it for our past crayfish but I think Megan might actually take care of hers since she's so interested and excited about it. Here's hoping!

Soccer Banquet

Soccer is finally over! Last night was Lauren's soccer banquet where she got her 1st varsity letter.

The night started with a welcome from the booster's president and then dinner which was catered. After everyone was done eating the presentations began with some of the seniors being recognized for special awards. Then it moved onto each individual player being recognized by the coaches with the JV going first then the varsity. It was really neat listening to what the coaches said about everyone, a great self esteem booster for the players.

The coach, for Lauren, basically said that she had an awesome year but got a couple of concussions that slowed her down. He then went on to say that even though she was hurt she was constantly wanting to play and that she always played her best no matter what.
A few of the players on the varsity team had gone out and bought some gag gifts for all the varsity players. I took a video of that and have been trying off and on all day to upload it here. I finally got it to work. Here's Lauren's gag gift from the varsity captains:

Then lastly they did a slide show that was put to music that showed all the girls playing. They started with JV, then varsity and finally just the seniors (there were 8 this year.) Wow! That was so moving it almost had me in tears! Whoever made that video, awesome job. For each senior they showed pictures from when they were little, their graduation picture and then current pictures of them. Then there was the music playing, can't remember what song it was but it was very appropriate.

The coach made a few last remarks and the banquet was over. Lauren really enjoyed it, I think she got a kick out of the gag gifts.