Chuck e Cheese

Kaden has been hoping for rain on a Wednesday all summer, so that we could go to Chuck e Cheese with Grama. Finally this Wednesday it rained in the morning and was a cool enough day that we couldn't do a pool day. So off we went to Chuck e Cheese. It was a lot different this time than last. When we first started going, you didn't even need to give the kids tokens. They would just walk around and climb on things. This time they went through 100 tokens faster than I ever thought they could. Last time we went Perry just rode around in his stroller and took in the sights. Wednesday Perry wanted to be included on all of the action, including playing games and riding rides. The kids had a great time and already are asking when we can go back.

This was Perry's favorite ride. It was a horse ride where there was a video like you where in a horse race. It really jerked you around but Perry loved it. I wish that I would have taken a video b/c it was pretty funny.

Kaden turned out to be quite the driver. He kept getting the time extended, so we were on that ride for almost 5 minutes!

One Ring Circus

We had a great weekend out in Grand Haven. Although it wasn't the best weather we made the best of it. We ate ice cream. played mini-golf, went to the park, and watched the musical fountains. On Sunday, we went to the circus at Harbor Island. It was a really good time. I had never been to a small traveling circus, just the big one that comes to the arena every year. It was such a different experience seeing the circus up close. Before the show the kids rode ponies and during intermission Kaden and Chris rode Lisa the elephant and Emerson had her face painted by the trapeze artist. It was a great way to spend one of our last summer weekends!

A lot of Hot Lava!

So, if your kids are anything like mine, you hear a lot of talk about hot lava. I have no idea with the obsession with hot lava is but it is talked about around here multiple times per day. So I decided that the kids and I should make a volcano with some hot lava. I have wanted to do this for awhile but we waited for a rainy day to finally try it. It was a big hit. The kids are already asking when we can do it again. I found that directions here and it was very easy and not as messy as I thought it would be.

Perry was excited to join us at the table for the project and not in his highchair.

Mixing the dough for the mountain

Our completed mountain with a flow of hot lava

Happy Birthday Chris!

Today is Chris' 30th Birthday. Hopefully the kids and I made it a special day for him. After letting him sleep in this morning, we made him blueberry pancakes with the fresh blueberries that we picked this weekend. The kids made a scavenger hunt for Chris about the 30 reasons that we love him. Then we went to church and they did not have to page us to come and get Perry (something that hasn't happened in a long time), so that was Perry's gift to Chris. We went out to lunch and then Chris, Kaden, and Emmy took a bike ride and went on a nature walk. We finished the night off at the Japanese Steak House and home for cake. It was a relaxing but fun day.

The kids insisted that Chris had 30 candles on his cake.

Here are the 30 of the many reasons that the kids came up with for loving Chris

1. He fishes with me

2. He taught me to ride without training wheels

3. He brings us to the pet store and lets us stay as long as we want

4. He works hard and we spend his money

5. He rocks me at night when I cry

6. He plays I spy with me

7. Daddy picks up toys for us and mommy makes us do it

8. He watches animal planet with me

9. He reads a story to us every night

10. He drove us all the way to Okoboji and Florida

11. He is smart and nice

12. He takes us on nature walks

13. He swims with us at the beach and makes good sandcastles

14. He is always excited to watch us

15. Emmy says that he likes to talk to mommy

16.He builds good campfires

17. He likes to draw and color

18. He is good at catching fireflies

19. He takes us to church almost every Sunday

20. He always gets me water with ice

21. We take our bikes to go get ice cream

22. He dances with me

23. He takes us to concerts and lets us stay up late

24. He laughs at our jokes

25. He is good at building with blocks and legos

26. He takes good care of us

27. He is good at grilling

28. He is never too busy for us

29. We have popcorn and watch movies together

30. He is the best husband and dad that we could ask for!!!

Millenium Park

We went to Millenium park today for our "Wednesday w/ Grama". We had a great time, even though we couldn't swim at the beach b/c the bacteria count was too high in the water. We spent time at the Splash Pad, played in sand, and checked out the awesome playground.

Grama spoiled them with huge slushes

Fun at the splashpad

Kaden is quite the climber lately

My First Boo Boo

Perry got his first BIG boo boo on Thursday. I was downstairs trying to take advantage of only having one kid at home with me while Kaden and Emerson were at vacation bible school and Perry fell on the cement basement floor. It was the biggest goose egg that I have ever seen. It took Perry quite awhile to calm down after his fall, so I started to get a little worried. I ended calling the nurse at his doctor's b/c it was nap time and I was afraid to put him down for a nap. After talking with the nurse for awhile, she thought that it was okay to put him down for a one hour nap. I had to watch him carefully for the next 72 hours, which meant waking him up at night to make sure he was okay. It looks much better now and I am just glad we are not taking pictures anytime soon.

Lions, Tigers, and Bears....Oh My!!

This year we decided to get a membership to the zoo. We mainly bought it so that Kaden and Emmy would get a discount and 1st choice for the fun camps they have during the summer. But unfortunately all of the 3 year old spots were filled right away, so the kids didn't get to go this year. Hopefully I will be able to get both of them into a camp for next year. We have been able to take full advantage of having a membership, since we have been to the zoo a lot this summer. Here are some pictures from our visits.

Feeding the birds is always one of the kids favorite activities