City of Beautiful

I decided I couldn't go to the Rocket Park one more day. The parks of the 'Kuk aren't ideal for Kit-Kat as most haven't been updated or groomed since the 70's.  I knew that Nauvoo had things to do so I called up Grandma D and got the skinny on things to do in Nauvoo.  She told me there were horse rides. I was sold at horse rides b/c as we know Miss M thinks she's a horse. 

We got to pet the horses. We did not end up going on a horse and wagon ride.  They were 50 minutes long and the little two would not make it that long.  Miss M was very excited to pet them.  She didn't hesitate at all. Big Willie was a bit more apprehensive. 

Until he met Bob and Bill. Bob and Bill are the white horses. He still talks about Bob and Bill when we read a book with a horse in it.

Nauvoo also had oxen.  They gave us a 10 minute oxen ride. It was perfect. Kids thought it was awesome and no one melted down bc it was too long.  The oxens' names were Duke and Dan.

The kids got to ride up front b/c there were only two other people who thought the kids would enjoy being up front.  I explained to these lovely people that when the oxen started to go to the bathroom in view of the children they were responsible for answering the questions!

Although I listened to Grandma D about going to Nauvoo I did not listen to her about driving to the visitors center. We had to walk at least a half mile mostly uphill  to get back to our car. Big Willie couldn't take it anymore so he threw himself on the ground.

Eventually I had to carry him.  And Cate. I hauled 55 pounds far longer than I wanted to.

I convinced Big Willie to run up the hill. He made it about a quarter of the way up the hill before I ended up carrying him the rest of the way.  We had to make it past the temple to get to our car.

I would really like to go back and park in a better location.

Back to the 'Kuk

Andrew had plans to travel for work. Instead of staying home and doing the same ol' thing we packed up the minivan and headed to the 'Kuk...again.

We had just as much fun.  Big Will started to struggle a lot toward the end of the week as he wanted to be home.  Big Will and I have had troubles seeing eye to eye lately.  We're gonna come to blows soon.  Miss M didn't go through the terrible twos, at least not in the same manner as Big Will. I realize you can't compare kids. I just don't know how to deal with his independence/temper/strong-will/determination all wrapped up in a 33 lb body. He's physically hard for me to restrain b/c he's a large guy.  We'll keep trucking on though. Life is about perseverance...right?

Playing in the large pots were the highlight of the week for all the kids. 

Miss M's temper tantrums are so different than Big Will's.  She slowly lays down on the ground and gets sassy with me. She doesn't try to hit me or scream in my face at her highest vocal pitch.  It's easier to laugh at her or ignore her when she decides to throw a fit. 

We went to the river one day to see if there were any barges. No barges...just a loud freight train.

The rocket park made it into the rotation.  Kit-Kat loves when her siblings take her for a ride on the slide.

Old school merry-go-round is always a hit. Even though some would consider it a death trap.

I got to ride my bike. Riding my bike makes me really happy.  

Bath time.

Perfect end to a great weekend.

The girls stared blankly as they watched Frozen after baths and before bed. The fresh air and scooter riding has been so good for them. They didn't spend all day asking to watch tv and were happy to play with each other and outside. 

Even Big Will enjoyed some Frozen.

After everyone was bathed we made a family trip to the DQ. Andrew and I love DQ so we all loaded up and took an extended family trip for a Blizzard. Jill ended up walking with Jack and Miss M. Katie asked Big Will if he would walk down the stairs with her and he screamed NO at her and then grabbed her hand and didn't let go. It was rather sweet after the screaming in her face.

Kit-Kat and I enjoyed our strawberry sundae.

Kit-Kat then enjoyed a bottle and some snuggles from Helen. It's fun to be the last baby b/c everyone has a little extra time for snuggles.

South Haven, MI Beach

Lake Michigan was within walking distance but we drove b/c I never know when the kids are going to just call it quits and leave me yelling at them to walk when they are demanding to be carried. 

Kit-Kat enjoyed the beach. I should have known considering how much she enjoys the bath.  She consumed a decent amount of sand but it's inevitable at the beach I suppose. 

Jill photo bombing our pictures.

She sat in the water and let the waves splash up on her. She was so happy.  She was such a mess too when we got her back to the house. It was so gross. The kids have never taken so many baths in one weekend. It's possible they took more baths this one weekend than they get in two weeks at home.

This guy struggled at the beach. He was tired going in which wasn't ideal. He didn't like his feet getting stuck in the wet sand. He wanted to play in the water but it was a rough day and the waves kept splashing in his face. He wanted nothing more than to play with his dad but he was busy playing with Kit-Kat and Miss M. He was a little better after a snack of apple sauce and apple juice but we didn't stay very long. Beach trips with kids aren't easy. There's too much stuff and not enough hands/energy to be outnumbered by kids. The safety factor also comes into play.  Although the kids are really good with wearing their floaties the water makes for a nervous playground. Oh and Big Willie loves to destroy a sand castle about .7 seconds after Miss M makes it.

South Haven, MI

We bought a Me-Reader (by Disney of course) from Costco and my kids love it. I find them reading books to themselves throughout the day.  We took it to MI and the kids all loved it.  They went around in a circle and took turns pushing the corresponding button and reading each page.  

We had another birthday party for Jill. Geez Jill. Get over your birthday already :) I was going to buy a cake but Helen volunteered to make a strawberry cake she had been wanting to try.  The kids (and adults) love singing Happy Birthday and eating cake so it's a win for everyone!

A tired little fella.

Miss M and Ellie making fruit-kabobs. Miss M wanted nothing more than to make kabobs so I tried to entertain them with the art of making them one morning while the other kids were gone. It lasted for approximately 4 completed kabobs.

Playing in South Haven MI

The backyard of the vacation house was enormous.  We probably could have lost a kid or two if we weren't such attentive parents. 

The Kids Corner park was a couple blocks away. It was a huge wooden fort.  The kids did not tire of running around the park and collecting rocks.

They had really nice swings for babies.  Most baby swings drive me insane b/c the kids automatically fall forward and look like they are going to fall out.

 Kit-Kat. AHHHH. Kit-Kat.  This park had all sorts of small openings. Kit-Kat was a master at crawling through the small openings and climbing to the top of the fort.  She got to the top in seconds. She was able to go down the slide by herself bc she weaseled her way up to the top.

Scooter Posse

It's vacation time! One last trip before summer comes to an end.  Helen found a vacation house in South Haven, Michigan with seven bedrooms. The house is two blocks from a park and three blocks from Lake Michigan.  The house is at the end of a dead end street which was perfect for all of our little (maniac) scooter riders.  

Typically, we travel from Friday to Sunday but this year we traveled Thursday to Sunday. The extra day was perfect.  The kids all brought their scooters and ran played in the street. They loved it. The parents loved it.  

We traveled with:

Helen and Kev and the boys. 

Katie and Chris and the girls.

Jill and Steve and their kids.

And our family of 5.

 Kev (on his adult scooter) was the leader of the pack on the way to the park.

 Kids at the start line. Ellie dominated on her feet.

Big Willie is fast on his scooter but when he's up against a bunch of four year olds on scooters he has a harder time keeping up.

 The Big Girls.

A day in the life...

Another day in paradise...I needed to go to the store to prepare for our upcoming trip to Michigan.  It was either starve or grocery with all of them.  I try to limit going to the store with all of them.  I typically try to take them when there's few enough items to self check out.  

This is the second trip I have made to the store and used the gigantic cart and had Kit-Kat strapped on.  A friendly woman said the usual "oh it looks like you have your hands full" and I thought the conversation was over. She then proceeded to ask if I wanted my picture taken. I declined and again thought we were done.  She asked again a few minutes later so I accepted her taking our picture.  She told me I would laugh about this one day.  

Just a picture of my sweetness.  She's one day closer to losing her bottle every day.

Some call it playing - Some call it wrestling

These two love to wrestle. Kit-Kat wants to be in the action.  She wants to be the source of the action and Big Willie loves to have some action. Miss M is the least physical person. 

The kids love jumping in Kit-Kat's crib. Not Big Willie's crib. Kit-Kat's.
Look at the happiness in that face.

This is my favorite picture. Miss M is so unaware of what's going on and only wants her picture taken. Kit-Kat is being taken down by Big Willie as you can see the choke hold around her neck.

Lookin' for excitement...

I predict we could end up in an ER sooner than later.