Idlewild and second lost tooth

On Sunday, we drove to Idlewild for the day.  It's about a 2.5 hour drive for us.  We left around 8am.  We arrived at 11am after stopping at McDonald's for the kids. They love pancakes so we got them some before arriving at the park.  The first thing we wanted to do there was the Daniel Tiger trolley ride.  That is always the one with the biggest wait.  However it didn't open until 12pm.  It was annoying because I thought it opened at 11am.  Nevertheless, we decided to go the jungle area.

Austin and Sydney played in the ball pit.  They loved it.  They enjoyed throwing balls at targets and swimming in the balls.  Then they went and climbed the rope climb.  They liked the playground at the end of it too.

After they played there, at 12pm we went right to Daniel Tiger's Trolley.  We waited about 15 minutes.  During the wait, the kids were sitting with me.  We were talking and they started fighting.  Brian took Sydney to separate them.  As Austin was talking to me, I noticed his other bottom tooth was missing.  I asked him about it and he didn't have a clue when it fell out. I called Brian over and he started looking for it.  Amazingly he found it under were we were sitting.  We couldn't believe it.  Then we didn't really have anything to put it in so Brian ended up putting it in a multiple colored pen and put in his camera bag.

We rode the trolley and Sydney enjoyed it.  Austin was not impressed and made comments about it being a baby ride.  Then they went and rode little kids rides.  The loved the push cars they had to pedal with their hands.  They rode all the rides there.  This was the first year, we didn't ride anything with them.  They were both big enough to do it by themselves.  They always have fun riding the rides together.

Then it was time for lunch. I packed some lunchables.  Austin didn't like any of it.  He ate a granola bar.  After lunch, we went to story book forest.  One of Austin's assignments for kindergarten is to learned several nursery rhymes.  It was cool to do story book forest with them knowing all the nursery rhymes and saying them.  One of Austin's favorites is Pease Porridge.  However while looking at the sign, Sydney sounded it out and knew what nursery rhyme it was.   We enjoyed walking though it.  There were several characters along with way too including Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood.  At the end, there was a new castle with a princess inside.  Sydney was so excited!

Austin and Sydney went back to the ball pit area and rope area.  Then it was time for them to see Danial Tiger.  We went there and got a picture.  The kids played in the kids rides for a bit again too.  Then we went and rode some bigger kid rides.  We rode the Scrambler, Storm Tripper twice, and then the spider.  The spider was terrible.  Austin and Sydney loved it.  Brian and I not so much!  In fact, we I got off with Austin I made him come with me to the bathroom (Brian was still on the ride) because I had to get sick.  It was bad!  I will never ride that again!

Then we needed to relax a bit so more little kid rides and then the big train ride.  Austin wanted to ride the train badly.  He enjoyed it.  After the train, it was about time for the park to close.  The kids wanted to ride Storm Tropper again so we did that and then drove home.

We stopped for dinner at Wendy's at ate in the car.  I drove there and back.  I enjoy driving since I don't do anything else in the car.  We had a great day there.  It's important to make these memories with the kids!

Bye Bye Wildwater Kingdom

Labor day weekend is always bittersweet for us.  We love summer but fall is pretty cool too.  One of our favorite things to do over Labor day weekend, is the Cleveland National Airshow.  Brian loves it.  Austin remembers it and loves it too.  Sydney also thinks it is cool.  We got there on Sunday around 11am and we stayed until 5pm after the Blue Angels.   We went in several planes and kids had fun doing different activities.  Austin enjoyed the NASA exhibit and learning about fuel cells.  He asked the worker several questions to make sure he understood.  We were impressed.  It was a fun family day.

Labor Day weekend was extra sad this year.  It was announced about two weeks ago that Wild Water Kingdom will be closing permanently on Labor Day.  We are all very sad about that.  We've had season tickets for 3 years now.  It was perfect for the kids.  We could go for a few hours at a time.  Austin and Sydney love it there.  We were hoping to allow them to spend many more summers there.

We spent a lot of time at Wild Water over the weekend even though the highs were barely 80 degrees.  On Saturday, we went after Austin's soccer game.  This was his first soccer game he played really well.  He even scored a goal.  The first few games of the season he hasn't been running hard and seems to not know what to do.  This week was his turning point.  Let's hope that continues.

On Sunday, we went after the airshow and stayed until it closed.  Then on Labor Day, we were there at opening and stayed a few hours and then came back in the evening until it closed.  In the evening, the kids played on the slides.  The love the slides even the little ones.  Then we went to the lazy river where Sydney lost her Frozen goggles.  Though the crocodile pool to the splash pad and ended back at the slides.  Brian and I even went down the slides with the kids.  Now that the are bigger (especially when it's cold) we let them go up themselves.  We can always see them.  Then at the end, Brian and I were under the big bucket.  Austin ran back up with Sydney for more slides and then we all stood under the big bucket one last time.  However they shut the water off before it could dump.  Everyone was sad.  People were even chatting "one more bucket".  It was sad leaving there.  We have so many great memories. We feel bad for the kids.  We will need to find something else for them to swim during the summer.

Austin lost his first tooth

During our trip down to Cincinnati, Austin noticed his bottom front tooth was loose.  He was so excited.  Brian and I couldn't believe it, how is it possible that he would be loosing his teeth already?!  It continued to be loose and 11 days later, it came out.

With Austin starting Kindergarten, we were nervous that he would lose his first tooth at school.  Per Austin's request, we even gave him a Tupperware container to store his tooth in case he lost it.  On Thursday morning, after I was at work, Austin went upstairs to brush his teeth.  And his tooth came out.  I guess he tried to put it back in it's spot however it obviously did not go back.  He yelled for Daddy and they both realized he had lost his first tooth.  Austin was so excited.  Sydney was excited for him too.

That night the tooth fairy came, and brought him a receipt for his tooth and $5.  Austin woke up at 1:30am and realized the tooth fairy had come.  He was so excited!  Brian and I were not as excited at 1:30am in the morning but we pretended to be for him.  However when he woke up at 6am he thought he lost his $5 and was sad.  I showed him the money and after a bit he was okay.

Cincinnati (5.5 years and 4 years old)

After we went to see the Cavs trophy and had Sydney's birthday party, we drove to Cincinnati for the weekend.  It was pouring down rain during driving.  Brian can work in the car where I can't so I was driving.  We finally got into our hotel at 10pm.

On Sunday we had a family fun day at King's Island.  We packed a lunch and left it in the cooler in the car.  Austin and Sydney love amusement parks.  We rode several rides and played at the water park.  We had a fun day.

On Monday, I took Brian to work.  The kids and I went to the zoo.  We had a great time.  The Cincinnati zoo is fantastic!  We had a great time.  Then we went swimming at our hotel pool.  It is amazing how important a pool at a hotel is.  Then we went to dinner with my friend from nursing school and her family.  It was great seeing them.

On Tuesday, I took Brian to work again.  The kids and I went back to the hotel and went swimming.  After swimming, we had hot chocolate.  I needed to get ready for my mommy meeting so printed out some forms.  We picked Brian up and drove back home.  We always enjoy our summer weekend in Cincinnati.

First Day of Kindergarten for Austin

The day has come for Austin to start Kindergarten.  I have mixed emotions about it!  I am sad the life of the school calendar starts.  We love to travel and to go when we want and now that has to change.  I am so happy to have the opportunity to stay home with them a lot since I work part time.  I am going to miss Austin so much while he's in school.  However Austin is so ready for school.  It will be good for him to learn and grow. He's so smart and needs to be challenged.  I also hope there will be less fighting between Austin and Sydney since they won't be with each other all the time.

On Wednesday night our school had meet the teacher night.  There was new student orientation from 4-5pm then meet the teachers from 5-6:30pm.  It was a busy night.  Austin needed to attend and we thought it was best for Sydney to come too.  The kids were excited to go.  We learned about the school.  After the hour meeting, we went down to the kindergarten rooms to find out Austin's teacher.  We were happy with the outcome.  It was busy at first.  We met the teacher and then walked around the room.  Then we went to explore the school.  We stopped in library, spoke to the Spanish teacher (which Austin is very excited about), got gym uniform, and put money on his lunch account.  Then we went back to his Kindergarten room.  Spoke with his teacher some more and then went home.

Once we got home, I made dinner.  Then kids got a bath.  It was story time and bedtime.  It was a big day tomorrow.  Once the kids were in bed, Brian and I went though all the forms we got.  In the forms was a homework sheet.  Austin was supposed to color a picture of his favorite thing he did in the summer.  I was like great, day one and we already didn't do his homework!

I woke up at 6am.  Austin and Sydney met me downstairs at 615am.  It was obvious they were excited.  I was happy they were up.  I explained to Austin about his homework I found the night before.  He was happy to do it.  I gave Sydney a piece of paper for her to color.  She was happy.  After they finished her homework we ate breakfast together.  I enjoyed eating with them.  No more kindle time in the morning.  After breakfast, they got ready for school.  It was the best day ever because they got ready so easily.  That usually doesn't happen that well.

Austin was ready first and him and Brian went outside to take some pictures.  Then Sydney joined.  Then we left for school.  We got there early.  Once at school, we took some pictures.  Sydney even took a picture of Austin, Brian and I.  Then we went into his classroom.  We learned the kindergarten routine.  Then we left.  There were no tears.  Brian and I were sad in our hearts.

Then we took Sydney to her new classroom.  She was sad she didn't start a new school.  But she does have a new room.  Then Brian and I went to work.

I only worked 5 hours so I could pick him up after school.  I was there when school let out.  Austin was happy to see me.  We walked to the car and he told me about his day.  There was a pretend fire alarm.  They went out to the parking out.  He loved buying his hot dog lunch.  They have rest time for 15 where they lay on the carpet.  They pray everytime they leave the room or before lunch and snack.  He had two boy friends they he liked however he doesn't know their names.  They practiced writing numbers.  That is all about what we could get out of him about his day.

After I picked him up we stopped by Walmart and Five Below.  We learned the night before we need to pack him a snack everyday.  So I wanted a snack bag so I will remember to pack him a snack.  Plus I needed to get a stain stick because he had stains on his uniform shirt.

Then we came home and played a little bit before picking up Sydney.  Austin was sad he didn't have any homework to complete.  We picked up Sydney and she was happy and had a great day in her new room.

We came home and had some dinner.  Then Austin had soccer practice.  After soccer, we went and got ice cream for his special day!

Sydney's 4th Birthday Party

This year Sydney wanted a princess party.  She wanted princesses to come to her party.  For that to happen we decided we need to have it at our house.  It's was good because we have an awesome swing set.   But bad because the stress and work of having a party at our house.  I was lucky and had lots of vacation time so I took the week off before her party.

Sydney's favorite princess is Anna from Frozen.  It wasn't too much for for 2 princesses so we had Elsa too.  Sydney was so excited for her party!  She has been waiting since Austin's party.  They both love their birthdays so much.  I enjoy planning their parties for them.

The weather was iffy all week.  I was nervous and really had no idea what was going to happen if it rained.  We don't have a big enough house for 14 kids and parents inside.  I tried to stay postivie and busy so I didn't have to worry about it.  Luckily the weather basically worked out.  It rained a lot Friday night.  Which meant the grass didn't have much time to dry on Saturday morning.  Brian took fans outside to dry the grass.  Then he was on his knees with towels drying.  It worked out great.  Saturday mornings weather was perfect.  It was humid but no rain and wasn't too bad since it was in the morning.

Sydney was so happy to see her friends and had a great party.  She waited out front for all of her friends to arrive.  Then we went out back and kids played on the playground until the princesses arrived.  I met the princesses and had the kids ready when the arrived.  Sydney loved it.  Anna and Elsa read the kids a book first.  Then they sang songs and danced.  Then they got their nails painted.  I brought down some tattoos for the boys too.  Austin was involved a lot in the party.  Sydney's boy friends played mostly on the playground.

After the princesses left, we ate pizza and had cupcakes.  After cupcakes, it was time for the pinata.  The kids didn't break it but Brian broke it up.  The kids loved getting all the candy.  Sydney gave her friends bubbles as a party favor.  She had a great party.

After her party, we went up to Cleveland for picture with the Cavs trophy.  We got a good picture.  We even stopped at the team shop to buy some things.  We ended our day by driving to Cinicinatti for a Brian work trip.

Virginia Beach

Right before our Virginia Beach trip, Sydney got strep throat again.  Luckily she recovered fast.

We decided to leave Friday night, drove to Breezewood, stayed at truck stop, no electricity.  We heard you could stay at Walmart parking lots too however the Breezewood truck stop worked for us.  It was not too bad.  We got up Saturday morning and finished driving.  We stopped at McDonald's to play and eat.  Right before we got to Virginia Beach we stopped at Wendy's for Frosty's.  We finally got there after 8 hours.  There was a lot of traffic.

We set up camp at KOA in Virginia Beach and then went swimming.  The pool was nice because it has a water slide the kids liked.  We went to Pizza Hut for dinner.  That is Austin's favorite.  We drove down to Beach Street.  We were all tired but did walk around for a bit.

On Sunday, we figured out the public bus system to and from our campsite.  It worked out nicely.  We went to the beach then went swimming at the pool, bounce house water slide.  Brian had to go down with Sydney because she was not tall went.  That night we went down to beach street and saw fireworks.  We even had Sweet Frogs ice cream.  Austin and Sydney were very happy.

On Monday, we went on the pirate ship ride.  Austin and Sydney enjoyed that.  We like it too.  We enjoy it more than the one in Myrtle Beach.  We rented bikes and biked the boardwalk.  That was fun and a lot of work.  Then we brought body boards for Austin and Sydney.  They were a huge hit.  They loved them and played for a while.  We went back to our campsite to eat dinner.  Then back to Beach Street for street performers at night.  We love it there!

On Tuesday, we went to the pool in the morning then went to the beach.  Austin and Sydney found so pirate treasure on the beach that is a tradition for us.  We had fun playing at the beach.  We packed up our campsite.  Then ended our trip with Beach Street and ice cream.

On Wednesday, we drove home. Luckily we made better time however we did not stop unless it was for gas.

We ended our week at the Cleveland Zoo for Cavs night.  It is a nice event the Cavs did for season ticket holders.