Alright... So, our summer so far...
I don't really even know where to begin. I just did a quick digital flip through all the pics, and there's too much...
We went to Indiana Beach. It is kind of like a county fair on drugs... uh... steroids, to be exact. Although we had fun, I don't think I ever really need to do it again. Both Caleb and Ian attempted to jump out of the kiddie boats and into the water. I think that was the end of the day for me, and it was only the third or fourth ride. Grace loved her carousel horse, which she named Belle. I didn't think we were going to be able to go home without it. I came home bruised from the roller coaster with no seat belts, and since I am a sucker for my third child, I could not resist when he said, "Mommy, I select you to ride the Tilt-A-Whirl with me!" So I got sick, too. I literally threw up in my mouth. Yuck. I will no longer be selected for the Tilt-A-Whirl. I thought I made that decision last summer... Here are a few pictures... but not the ones that Phil took of me on the aforementioned ride. They were not flattering:
Final analysis: "There's No More Than Corn in Indiana!"Shortly after the Indiana Beach experience, Phil took some vacation time. It was that "use it or lose it" kind of vacation time, and we didn't have a whole lot of vacation money just sitting around, since we are saving for our Disney trip this fall, so we just did a variety of things kinda local...
We went to Indy and purchased memberships to the zoo. Once you're family is this size, it is almost always worthwhile to purchase a membership anywhere you go. Sometimes it is even cheaper than buying a day pass!
I remember why I love the zoo. It's so relaxing! For the most part, the kids just walk around from exhibit to exhibit and stand there and watch each animal for a really long time, and no one seems like they're in a hurry. We all tend to be especially fond of ocean animals, so I thought the kids would surely like to pet the sharks... not so. They all stood there shouting, "Mommy, don't let it eat you!" That's OK, though. I loved petting the sharks! Everyone enjoyed the dolphin show, and we have now learned about 56,472 different ways to conserve energy. We know a lot about lightbulbs, too... When we got to the giraffes it was feeding time, so we had a little pep talk. It went something like this:
Me: "Now, if we stand in this line and pay $1.00 apiece to feed the giraffe, then when we get to the front, you are feeding the giraffe. Is that clear?"
Kids: "Yes, Mom. We want to feed the giraffe!"
And you know what? They actually did it! Well, except for Ian who started screaming at the top of his little lungs when the giraffe got in his face and tried to lick him. I fed the giraffe Ian's giraffe food. Poor giraffe...
We missed the elephant bathing, so Caleb didn't get to pet the elephant. Disappointing, but that's what memberships are for, right?
It also began to storm at some point, so we didn't get to play on the playground for long or at the waterpark at all, but hey... ditto above...
We left in the afternoon and went in search of Chick-Fil-A at the mall, which would have been great if it wasn't Sunday... We ended up eating at Steak and Shake and got some great new accessories for our wardrobes, which all six of us wore through the streets of downtown Indy.
Then, we stayed overnight at Holiday Inn Express and swam in the pool and watched an old Lucy and Desi movie, which the kids thought was kind of boring. In the morning we enjoyed the new, expanded Holiday Inn Express breakfast, minus Cinnamon Rolls, because they were out. We swam some more. Then we went home...Quickly... because Seth had a baseball game. We got there just in time for him to change into his uniform and run to the dugout!
Then we experienced what everyone is talking about when you hear about the intensity of Little League playoff games. Seth played on a really great team with super coaches, and he had a very good season. The playoffs were like nothing I've ever seen before. I was seriously a bit concerned that we were going to end up in the middle of a fight a couple of times. Our team won in the first round, and we were pretty much kicking butt in the second round until the other team started changing the rules and really rattled our kids. We ended up losing, and I was pretty ticked to tell you the truth. It was about all I could do to restrain myself from saying a few choice things to the coaches of the other team at the end of the game. We were playing against the team that our church sponsored, though, so I managed to keep my mouth shut... Seriously, though... It's Little League! There is no reason to throw a clipboard across the field!
At any rate, it was still a good end to a great season. There was a team party later in the month, and Seth got his first real trophy, about which he was elated. Seth also had a lot of fun at the party, because it was on "our turf". He thought it was pretty cool that he knew where everything was and could tell everybody about it!
A couple of days after the final game, Phil and the kids left for Michigan and Balloonfest! Although I really missed seeing family and enjoying the balloons together, I did not go and instead embarked on an adventure that I shall call "Mommy Retreat". Even though the idea was for me to have some time for myself, just relaxing, I decided that it really couldn't hurt to stay up until 3:00am that first night, painting the boys' bedroom while talking on the phone with Katie. I was exhausted and covered in paint by early morning, but I felt very good about having accomplished something. Once I got all of the paint off, I proceeded to leave town.
I then enjoyed a full body massage and manicure, did more shopping than I ought to, ate whatever I wanted without sharing, and checked into a hotel suite with a king sized bed and my own jacuzzi. For the next two days, I only emerged to get breakfast (they had cinnamon rolls) and to attempt to use the vending machine that ate my dollar. The rest of the time, I pampered myself with various home spa stuff, slept, listened to music, and watched more TV than I typically watch in a year. I have now seen John and Kate plus Eight and Hannah Montana, in case anyone is wondering...
It was a wonderful experience, and I really needed it, but I missed my family by check out time, and I was glad to be on my way...
Since I still had a few hours before they would arrive home, I shopped a bit more, and then I went and had my hair cut and highlighted and my eyebrows waxed. It was fun.
After Phil and the kids got home, we hung out for a little while and shared stories about our weekend adventures. Phil and I then proceeded to get ready to go see Bill Cosby! I grew up watching The Cosby Show, and I have always liked Bill Cosby. It was a wonderful show, and we laughed very hard through most of it. I took a few pictures, even though I wasn't really supposed to. I think everyone there took a few pictures...
We've also done a lot of fun, almost normal things this summer. We got a trampoline... but I had to have one with an enclosure around it, or I absolutely would not let my kids jump. It has been great. I also purchased three slip and slides. I realize that most people find that just one is more than enough, but it seemed like a really great idea at the time to buy several and hook them all together in order to create a race track... well... anyways... We are enjoying our yard and the area parks, as well:
Our second trip to the zoo was also a lot of fun. We went with our friends Monica and Keegan. We saw the dolphin show again, but this time we sat in the splash zone... It is called the splash zone for a reason! We made it to the elephant bathing, and we got to pet the elephant. And everyone petted the sharks! We also played at the waterpark, even though it was cold! Keegan even got a job at the zoo, sweeping up... hehehe:
Since I figured we hadn't been busy enough, I enrolled all of the kids in camps for the same week! Seth went to soccer camp, while Grace, Caleb, and Ian went to music camp. We all had a fantastic time, and now I am figuring out how to finance extracurricular activities for the school year. I seriously might have a fundraiser... Public schools do it... why not homeschools?
And, our latest adventure (at least the latest one I'm going to write about right now) was a trip to King's Island for Spiritfest. We took Seth and Grace with us, while Caleb and Ian stayed at home with Grandma. Overall, I'd say it was a good time, but it is kind of difficult to try to fit in all of the rides around the concerts. I will say that I now know it is possible to run from the far back corner of the waterpark all the way to the amphitheater in just under 15 minutes. I did this wearing Fit Flops, which I would not recommend (the run, not the shoes). We had a fantastic time rockin' out to Stellar Kart and Toby Mac, and Crowder was alright, too...
So, it has taken me two days to write this post. I do not necessarily expect to return to daily blogging until the summer is finished, but I hope it won't be this long again between posts, because it takes forever to write them, they aren't nearly as detailed as I would like, and I'm sure it takes forever to read them, too. If you made it this far, many congratulations!Lisa
