July Birthday fun

The other week at daycare, Sydney got very upset.  It was a few hours after Brian had dropped her off.  For whatever reason, she kept crying for me.  She has never done that.  She always loves school and is usually fine.  But for some reason she was really upset.  The teachers tried calming her down but nothing worked.  So her teacher decided to take her for a walk to see Austin.  They went into Austin's room.  Then as Austin said, he was confused on why Sydney was in there.  He thought maybe it was because maybe it was picture day.  The teachers were impressed and told us how Austin was concerned and went over to her to help.  Sydney told him that she wanted mommy.  Austin told her that mommy will be here after work and not to worry.  And then he gave her a big hug and picked her up off the floor.  Sydney felt so much better and then went back to her room.  He calmed her down when no one else could and she stopped crying.  Austin was a great big brother and was so good with her.  Austin is very caring does a great job helping Sydney when she needs it!  All the teachers were impressed.

For my mom's birthday, we went down to Menard's.  Brian needed to get supplies for our hot water tank. Then we went to Rockne's for dinner.  The kids were fairly good at dinner.  We don't eat out often.  After dinner, we went back to their house for cake.  The kids made the cake.  They are good in the kitchen.  The kids made her a planter with their footprints on it.  I thought it turned out really cute.

We took the kids to a Rubber Ducks game with my parents.  We were supposed to go in May but it got rained out.  My mom exchanged the tickets for us.  Our new seats were right behind home plate.  It was awesome.  The kids made a duck hat.  Then they got a duck whistle.  I am not a fan of it since it is so loud, but the kids love it!  They also got to go down the bouncy slide.  They saw Jake the Pirate and mascots of the rubber ducks.  It was a great day.

After the game, we went back to my parents house for pizza.  The kids love pizza now.  Sydney really only eats the pepperoni and Austin likes cheese pizza.  Then we had cake for Papa's birthday.  Again the kids made it.  It was really good.

Our garden is doing okay.  The green beans are doing fantastic.  We have had a lot of them and they are good.  Nothing else has grown enough to eat yet.  We have a few green tomatoes and it appears watermelon and a few cucumbers.  Austin and Sydney have enjoyed the garden.  The like to water it and pick the green beans.  Even though I don't like gardening much, it has been fun with the kiddos.  We'll probably do it again next year.

Myrtle Beach

In the springtime I decided that I would be driving down to Myrtle Beach myself.  We love to travel so Brian doesn’t have much time off for Myrtle Beach.  I have more time since I only work part time.  I knew the kids would have fun and I felt it was some thing I needed to do. 

I really didn’t know what to expect during the trip down.  As the day approached I was having second thoughts.  But this was something I committed to doing so I had to do it.  I wasn’t supposed to leave until Monday so Brian could spend the weekend with the kids.  It was going to rain during my drive on Monday and Brian has started installing a new tank less water heater (which is a major project requiring reworking of lots of our home's plumbing).  So it seemed better for me just to leave on Sunday.  I really didn’t want to drive in the rain.  Any work Brian could get done would be a bonus. 

So Sunday morning, I woke up at 4:30 am and got the kids in the van.  Brian helped me set everything up.  By 5:15 am we were on the road.  I would lie if I said I wasn’t nervous of all the “what ifs” that could happen. But I am not one to dwell on it.  I needed to just do it.   I was scared the kids would be a nightmare and I would want to lose my mind.  But deep down I knew they could do this, especially Austin.  We stopped at a rest stop in Virginia.  The kids ran around for a little while.  Then we made it to about an hour away and we all needed a potty break again. 

They did fabulous in the car.  They played on their Kindles, Leapfrog games, stickers, books, and Sesame Street audio player from the library.  Austin would help Sydney whenever she needed it.  It was really nice.  I could not have been happier with their behavior in the van going down. My GPS had me going in the back way of Nana’s house.  However the gate was closed.  So she came and got us and showed us the long way around.  The kids were a little hesitant of her at first but Austin warmed up nicely.  Sydney was a little shy but took Austin’s lead.  They had pizza waiting for us when we arrived.  It was nice.  Sydney just ate the pepperoni from the pizza and Austin had a cheese piece of pizza.  That is how they always eat their pizza.  

Melissa, Jonathan, Camden and Graham came over too.  The kids played for a little bit.  Then we went on a golf cart ride to the beach.  Austin and Sydney love the golf cart.  They taught Camden to push his hands out and say stop to cars when the golf cart is crossing.  After the golf cart ride, we had s’mores and got ready for bed. 

On Monday, Nana and Melissa had to work.  I took the kids to the local Myrtle Beach Park.  They had a great time except it got hot fast.  They only played for about 30 minutes.  Then we went grocery shopping so we had food for the week for lunch and everything.  By the time we got back, Nana was home from work. The kids played outside in a little pool and played with bubbles.  Then it was nap time.  After nap we were going to the beach but it started to storm.  The kids were sad about that.  We played inside and then went to Melissa’s for dinner.  Everyone had fun playing there.  Then Melissa and I took the kids for ice cream. After ice cream, I took the kids to Barefoot to walk around and wait for fireworks.  Melissa and Jonathan and the boys joined us for fireworks.  We all enjoyed it. 

On Tuesday, we went to the beach first thing in the morning.  Austin and Sydney were so excited to play at the beach and pool.  We went to the beach first.  They played in the sand and Austin played in the ocean a little bit.  There have been shark attacks in North Carolina (due to our warmer and wetter summer) so we didn’t want him in the water too deep.  He only went to my knees in the water.  They found sea shells too.  After beach time, it was time to play in the pool.  Austin and Sydney

love swimming in the pool.  Camden loved playing with them too.  It was a fun morning at the beach and pool.  After nap, we went to Melissa’s for dinner again.  The kids played in the sprinkler there.  Then Melissa and I tried taking the kids to play putt putt but the lines were too long.  Austin was extremely sad that he couldn’t do it.  He had wanted to play golf so bad before we came down.  But I told him we could do it some other time.  We took the kids to the park and got ice cream.  That made up for it a little bit. 

I was very happy when it was Wednesday because Brian was flying in.  I really needed his help with the kids. It’s very difficult with them especially at someone else’s house.  Wednesday morning we went to the beach and pool again.  We ended up having lunch at the pool this time.  By the time we got back to Nana’s house, it was basically time to pick up Daddy from the airport.  The kids fell asleep in the van on the ride to the airport.  Because they fell asleep, we didn’t go inside the airport.  Austin woke up as soon as Brian got in the van though.  It was great he was back with us again. 

We went to Melissa’s for dinner again.  It was so nice of her to make dinner for us every night.  The kids enjoyed playing at her house.  The made Camden a box house with a light inside of it.  All the kids, loved it.  That is where most of the fights happened because everyone wanted to play in it.  

After dinner we went back to the pool so Brian could see the bouncy water slides at the pool.  They were only set up for that day.  Austin was proud to show Daddy how he can do the water slides.  We made Sydney go down it but she did not like it.  Then we played in the pool for a while.  We went back to Melissa’s for brownies and ice cream. 

On Thursday morning, we went to out to breakfast near the pirate boat ride.  After breakfast we went to the pirate ship.  It was a mess because we didn’t count Graham as a person but he counts in the numbers so Nana stayed back with Graham.  This pirate ship was different from the one in Virginia Beach.  This one was smaller.  The kids sat up front and the adults were in the back of the boat.  Austin and Sydney went right up front with the other kids alone.  They have been more independent and not as shy in these types of situations now.  Camden did not like it.  He went to the back with his mommy and daddy.  Austin and Sydney participated in all the activities. They really had a great time. Hopefully next time Camden will enjoy it too. 

After naptime, we went back to the pool for a while before dinner.  The kids love swimming.  We really got a lot of use out of the pool.  After the pool, we had dinner at the country club at Nana’s house.  It was pasta night.  It was perfect because pasta is the kid’s favorite meal.  They got to pick it out themselves.  Grandpa found some M&M’s with the kids.  He put them in a cup and they had them after dinner.  They were excited about it and didn’t even try to eat any before dinner. 

Friday morning we enjoyed our last beach and pool day.  Again the kids had a great time swimming and playing at the beach.  Austin learned the game of ping pong.  He said that ping pong is even better than basketball.  Austin really likes basketball so that’s impressive.  He played ping pong with Nana for at least 30 minutes.  Austin and Sydney enjoyed playing football in the pool with Jonathan.  He would throw the ball up while they jumped in.  Austin would catch it midair.  Sydney would catch it before coming into the pool.  Everyone had a great time. 

Brian, Melissa, Jonathan, and I went out to dinner that night.  Nana and Grandpa took the kids putt putt golfing.  This was their first time doing it.  They had fun.  Austin keeps asking when we are doing that again.  Then we went to a café for milkshakes with everyone.  It was a nice evening. 

Saturday morning Graham was baptized.  After the baptism we drove home.  Traffic was terrible and it took us over 13 hours to get home.  We were glad when we got home at 1 am.  We were exhausted but the kids enjoyed the trip.  

4th of July

The other morning Sydney was insistent that she eat cereal with milk on the couch.  They can have cereal on the couch but not with milk.  She was crying non stop. Austin say her upset and came up with a solution on his own.  He got her baby dolls and the baby doll high chair from upstairs and we were all going to sit at the little table.  Brian was already running late for work but he felt bad for me so he went to get the milk.  The milk jug slipped out of his hands and landed on the floor.  The milk jug split open and milk was everywhere.  It was a a mess!  Sydney continued to cry uncontrollably.  We were not happy.  Brian stayed and cleaned it all up (which required us to pull out the fridge to get underneath it).  Austin was sad he didn't have anymore milk.  Oh what a morning!

The beginning of the summer has been cool and wet.  It rained almost everyday in June.  I haven't minded too much that it's been cool but that doesn't give us much swimming time.  We have been able to get in some Wild Water swimming but not as much as usual.  Hopefully it will warm up.

Sydney doesn't like taking naps.  Many days she will not nap for me.  Or when she does, it takes me over an hour to get her to sleep.  That drives me crazy.  I need that hour to get something done.  So now I let her play in her room if she insists.  She is crankier in the evenings but I can't do it.  Probably in the fall or winter sometime Austin is going to have to give up his naps.  When that happens, she won't be taking naps either.

The Sunday before the 4th of July are always Fairlawn's fireworks.  That is our favorite firework show in the area.  We know where to park and get there and listen to the band.  The kids run around and play with their glow sticks.  Then we watch fireworks.  We had a great night.

The Friday before the 4th I worked.  It was a good day for me to work. Brian and my mom were home with the kids.  They all had a good day.

On the 4th of July, we went to the Stow Parade.  It's may favorite parade.  I always went growing up.  Brian and I found a great place to sit and have been bringing the kids to it for 3 years now.  We get donuts in the morning.  The parade hands out so much candy it's crazy.  The kids really enjoy it.  Then that night, we went to Solon for the fireworks.  Where we watch them, there's a lot of playgrounds around.  The kids love that.  They play on them for an hour before the fireworks show.  We had a great holiday week!

Austin and Sydney have a pretend friend named Sony Pie.  It developed last year at Sesame Place's hotel.  Austin would say that Sony Pie was out in the hallway.  They are interacting with him a little it more.  His name comes up about once a week.  Austin told me that Sony Pie is seeing fireworks after we see the this year.  I had a lot of pretend friends growing up.  It will be interesting to see if Austin and Sydney do too.

The kids played T-ball for the first time this year.  It was difficult for us because of the Cavs games.  I was Austin's coach which was nice for me and Austin but was harder for Brian and poor Sydney would be left alone with her team at times so Brian could get a picture of Austin.  The kids fields were far apart and we were often racing out of there to get to a Cavs game downtown.  I don't think I will do coaching again when both kids are playing at the same time.  They only had 4 games this year because of the rain too.  It has been a very raining summer.  Brian did not mind since he is not a fan of baseball at all, but the kids enjoyed it.

Sesame Place

One of our favorite trips last year was Sesame Place.  We went in June and it worked out great.  With the Cavs in the finals and us hoping there would be a parade this year it was hard to plan Seasme Place.  I finally decided on a weekend that the price was reasonable but knew there could be a chance we would need to cancel it depending on the Cavs.  Since the Cavs ended up loosing before the deadline to cancel, our trip went on as scheduled.

The next issue with it was the weather.  It has been a very wet summer so far.  The weekend we went, a topical depression was coming up from Texas.  It was supposed to rain all day Sunday.  We decided to leave early on Saturday and spend Saturday evening in the park to make up for what we may miss on Sunday.  By some miracle, it only rained Saturday night for 8 hours while we were sleeping.  We had no rain, just it was very hot and humid.

We left around 8 am on Saturday.  We arrived around 3 pm to our hotel.  It was about 30 minutes away from Sesame Place.  It was a very nice Holiday Inn Express.  After we checked in, we went to Burger King for dinner.  The kids were being rotten.  They were excited about getting to the park.  After a quick dinner, we went to the park.  The weather was perfect, cloudy and warm.  The kids rode some rides.  Then we watched the night parade.  The night time parade is awesome.  The kids love it!

Sunday morning we had breakfast at the hotel.  Austin enjoyed using the pancake making machine.  He would push the button and a pancake would be made.  After breakfast, we went to the park.  In the morning, it wasn't too busy.

 The kids rode on amusement rides.  Austin loves the roller coaster.  He rode that over 10 times during the weekend.  Sydney liked flying rockets, flying Elmo's, and the flying swings. She was scared to try the swings but we tried it with her and she loved it.  Austin and Sydney also enjoyed going down the slides there.  Brian and I only let them do that for a while because they can do that at home.  Finally we convinced them to ride other things.

In the afternoon, it was hot.  Then we went to the water park side.   The kids liked the lazy river.  It was nice because the inter tubes were their size.  Then we convinced Sydney to ride the big rubber duck slide with us.  She was a little scared at times but in the end she even said it was a "little fun" (although we couldn't convince her to ride it again).  Then the kids played in the smaller water slide area with the big bucket.  The only issue was the pavement was extremely hot and rocky.  Next year, I'm bring water shoes to walk from area to area.

After the water park, we had dinner. We rode some rides.  Then it was time for the nighttime parade again.  It was a fun day.

Monday was the hottest day.  We knew that going into the trip.  We planned to see some shows and send more time in the water park.  Again in the morning we rode rides while the lines were not long.  Then we saw a show.  Sydney just loved it especially seeing Elmo.  Sydney really likes Elmo!  Austin was just okay with it.  He was getting tired and hungry so that didn't help.  Then we had some lunch.

After lunch we went to the water park.  This time Brian took Austin on some bigger water slides.  It was 3 ft deep at the bottom of the slide.  Brian was nervous about that because Austin can't swim.  He watched other kids do it.  The lifeguard comes closer when asked and it worked out fine.  We were impressed that Austin did it.  He rode it 3 times.  Austin really enjoys more adventurous rides.  Sydney not so much.  We hung out in the little slide area with about 3 bathroom breaks in between.

After the water park, Sydney took a nap.  Austin couldn't fall asleep.  They kept making announcements about lost children.  It's actually interesting because even after being home for a few weeks Austin can recite that announcement verbatim.

We had to wake Sydney up from her nap for our character dinner.  That did not go over too well with Sydney.  She was slow to wake up.  The character dinner was okay however I enjoyed it better last year.  It was a mess because they changed our seats after we had already setup and were getting food.  Then Abby came over early at our new location and we were not quite ready, but it worked out.  I'm not sure next year we are going to do the character meal.  I guess it will depend on if Sydney still really enjoys the characters.

After dinner, we decided to leave.  It had been a busy 2.5 days.  Austin really wanted to swim in the hotel pool.  It was his choice on whether to see the parade again or go swimming at the hotel.  He chose swimming.  After swimming, we even took the kids for ice cream,  We ended up at Friendly's. Per Austin's request, we ate inside.  It ended up to be a very nice evening.

It was a great weekend in Sesame Place.  I highly recommend it for anyone with young kids.