A quick trip to the beach

Last weekend, we took a quick trip to the beach. Thanks to credit card points, our hotel was free (woohoo!). We drove up Thursday evening to Annapolis, Maryland, which helped to cut the driving down into more manageable bits. I was proud of Robbie and Clara being able to sleep on the hide-a-bed together--a first. After the complimentary breakfast at the Residence Inn, we drove the last two hours to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. We actually went to Cape Henlopen, a state park next to Rehoboth. It was a fun beach and not super crowded.

 Clara was not digging the beach and kept asking when we were leaving. Sigh. The Atlantic Ocean was pretty rough and she didn't like the surf.

 Although initially reluctant, Michael convinced Robbie and especially Henry that the ocean was actually super fun.

 Robbie really enjoyed collecting rocks and shells.

After a couple of hours there, we decided to try out the Chesapeake Bay side of Delaware. On the way, we stopped at a nature center and the kids touched horseshoe crabs and saw tanks of fish. The Bay side was almost completely calm. I didn't like the briny/mucky feel of the sand--or the biting flies--but the kids enjoyed a calmer time and had fun playing there. Clara definitely felt more comfortable on that side. It was awesome that they could walk out for yards without any change in water depth.

We picked up a pizza from Squisito's on the way to our hotel and then showed the older kids the classic Disney's Robin Hood movie; it brought back lots of memories for me of lines that Bryan and I would say to each other.

The next morning, we drove to the Climbzone. I had originally intended to have this be for another trip, but we decided to go for it.

The place was phenomenal.With over thirty different climbing walls, each uniquely designed, plus a bounce house and inflatable slides, we had a blast. Michael and I could even do it, which was fun.

 Clara was brave to try the climbing net.

 Henry just thought the whole thing was a gas.

 She was a good sport for trying, even though she was uncomfortable.

 After a few tries on a wall, Clara opted to spend most of the time watching Baby Einstein in the small child area by herself. This made me sad. It is such a challenge to find activities that are enjoyable for everyone in the family, and I think this will only continue to be difficult as the boys get older and are interested in other things. For now, the modus operandi is that we will all participate--if nothing else, exposure to new things is good, right? Right?!

 The Mount Rushmore wall was great because you could have multiple climbers. Robbie did well on the walls--he wasn't quite as into it as I was hoping, but he got pretty far on several, and I hope that he'll grow in confidence as we do that kind of thing more.

 Henry hasn't yet developed a sense of healthy fear, and he just kept going on this kitty climbing wall.

There he is at the very top. I was afraid he would try to climb right over it! I kept yelling up, "Okay, Henry, great job, now let go and come down!" (It was an auto-belay system, so if you let go, it would just gently drop you down.) It took him a few minutes to figure it out, but he did and just grinned the whole way as he dropped to the ground. Several people were watching him in amazement and clapped when he got down.

And then on the way home, we dropped by the McAllister's house to see their sweet new baby, Lena.

It was a fun weekend jaunt before school started back up again.

Summer 2017 Fun

I feel like this summer--which is already two-thirds of the way through--has gone well. One thing that has made things hugely easier is Henry's ability to walk, play, swim, and more or less keep up with Robbie and Clara.

Here are a few highlights:

 The initial plan and charts. These worked well, although I wasn't always as good at reminding the kids to check them off. I used the code words "Cah-ca-cah!" to remind them to check their charts in the morning.

One of the things I wanted to work on was "table time," where we did fine motor and sensory activities.

 Making stress balls out of balloons and flour--which sadly popped/ripped that day. Big mess. #pinterestfail

 Snap cubes were a lot of fun.

 Play-doh is always a hit--the kids were good at threading Cheerios onto spaghetti noodles as well.

 Practicing with paper clips.

 Homemade Silly Putty, which was fun, but we agreed that the store-bought is still better.

I petered out with the table time the last month or so of summer, but that was okay.

 Our hydrangeas. I love them so much.

Staying up late to catch fireflies. It was magical.

 Pool time. Nice crack, Henry.

 Bath time feels so good after the pool.

 Painting outside.

 The sprinkler under the trampoline.

 Swimming at the pool has been a highlight. Robbie's lessons were great and he has really been improving. He even jumped off the diving board and went down the slide.

 Eyes closed but still beautiful!

 This kid has been crazy in the pool this year. No fear.

 Geoboards for table time.

 A trip to Riven Rock park. So beautiful.

 Clara hanging out with Elizabeth Stratford and Audrey Smith.

 Enjoying pizza at Benny's after cleaning the church. Their pieces are enormous.

 Michael working on editing some awesome scripture story videos with the kids as actors on Sundays when he's had the time.

 At Sherando Lake, Clara got on the stand-up paddle board. I was impressed.

Bad pic of Robbie, but the boys loved playing in the water and the sand at the lake. We went there for playgroup and our neighbors, the Zopps, came as well. It was a blast.

I went rock-climbing with a new friend, Sara Briscoe, at the UREC at JMU. It was fun and scary--we were just on the novice climbs, but it felt pretty hard to me! I was very proud of myself for doing it.

While Michael recovered from his kidney surgery, I took the kids to Wildwood Park. It was a beautiful evening.

We made homemade bubbles--totally awesome!

The splash pad in Winchester--it was probably not worth the drive, but it was a fun hour. Actually, the super high-tech bathroom was the most amazing part, haha!

We filled up 650 water balloons with our neighbors, the Zopps. The first 350 were popped/thrown nearly instantaneously--the second batch on the trampoline lasted a little longer after the experience wasn't quite so new. The kids pretended they were their babies.

Fun fun fun.

Family movie night watching Tarzan with lots of yummy treats--awesome.

Henry selfies

Henry is such a funny kid. He loves to laugh and make others laugh, too. These selfies are evidence of his sense of humor--already he knows not to take himself too seriously.

A hairy situation

A couple of weeks ago, I came home from visiting teaching and Michael met me at the door, informing me "Don't freak out, but Robbie cut his hair." Boy, he sure did! He said that he wanted to get the stickiness out of his hair from the grapefruit juice popsicle he had eaten.

 "This didn't turn out the way I was thinking."

 "What have I done?"

 "What is Mom going to say?"

 "Thanks for the comb-over, Dad!"

"Well, it sure is nice and cool now!"

Robbie was very upset when I told him that he needed to get it evened up, and he hated it when Michael trimmed off the rest of his hair--there was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. He was worried that people would make fun of him. Fortunately, he has calmed down about his hair and now doesn't even pay attention to it. It is growing back, slowly but surely. Hopefully that was a lesson he'll remember! We will be very glad when it all grows back--not a fan of the buzz-cut look.