Road Trip Day 3- Wisconsin

Saturday was a gorgeous day so we headed down to Lake Michigan to hang out on the beach! It looked a lot like the ocean, complete with waves and undertows, but the kids had a blast.    

Charlotte and Lilly seem to have picked right up where they left off 4 years ago. They are the best of friends.

All the kids enjoyed playing in the water, jumping waves and playing in the sand.

We headed back to Abby and Shane's and the little kids took a nap. Meanwhile, the kids found a kitten that had wandered over from the dairy farm next door. They named her Tippy and took very good care of her.

Oliver on the other hand, was not so gentle with the toad he found. He was not letting that thing go for anything. Luckily he did survive!

It was a perfect day!

Road Trip Day 2

Chris and I had to wake the kids yesterday morning so we could get on the road. We only had about 6 hours to drive so we chose one stop at Bass Pro Shops as our stop. 

To say the kids had a blast is an understatement! Between the giant fish tank, the tents, sleeping bags and shooting range, we weren't sure they were going to want to leave!

We had lunch at their restaurant there and then got back in the car at noon to drive the last few hours north. We hit some traffic but nothing terrible and got to Shane and Abby's around 3:00. The kids didn't know what to think of each other at first. They haven't seen each other in 4 years! It didn't take long until they were running around together dancing, zip lining, painting nails and having water gun fights!

The boys made a bonfire for us and set off fireworks before the kids were ready to crash around 10ish (we are an hour behind now so it really was 11!). They can't wait to get back to playing today!

Road Trip Day 1

Yesterday morning we started off on our summer road trip. Our first stop was Toledo, OH, just to spend the night. I figured it would take us about 12 hours and it took us exactly that! We started out from Mimi's, and the kids were super excited. (Except for Caroline who I had to wake up at 8:40 to leave!)

We stopped in Liverpool, NY at a playground before Killian fell asleep in the car. The kids had fun playing for a bit and stretching their legs.

Once they were hot and sweaty we got back in the car and they had lunch. Killian napped until we got to the Canadian Border. Caroline however only decided to nap for 20 minutes... A tired Caroline is not always pretty.

We got through customs easily and made our next stop in Hamilton, ON at a playground near the water with some water sprayers. 

It was almost 90 degrees so the water was nice. There was also a giant tugboat to play on and the kids enjoyed that.

We got back in the car again and had our first hiccup when we went the wrong way on the highway getting back on. Once we got that straightened out we headed west to Toledo. The last leg was the longest, about 4 hours and the kids were just about down by the time we got to the hotel around 8:45. They were so good in the car and only drove us crazy for the last bit so we told them they could swim quickly before bed while Chris unloaded and cleaned out the car.

Luckily we got a hotel with a suite so the kids all had their own room to sleep in! We head to Wisconson this morning! 

Mother's Day Weekend

Saturday morning we said goodbye to Grammy and Papa and headed over to gymnastics. The girls classes are back to back so it means spending two hours at the gym! Charlotte's class had some mini competitions today and she won two! One of them was balance, she won 3/5 balance events on the beam, and came in second for the other. 

Mimi was working and Killian and I needed to go let Sophie out after gymnastics. I then took Killian to run some errands, which was not as fun! 

Grandma taught Killian to blow dandelion flowers and say "she loves me, she loves me not". 

Killian and I stopped to get some fake flowers to go with our Mother's Day presents and gave Grandma hers a bit early!

I also made my own present, as Chris is away. 

Sunday morning started off rainy and cold, but by mid-day it was sunny and getting warm. I went to the store and the kids stayed at Mimi's and played in their Jammie's. 

Caroline and I took a nap and when we got up we found Charlotte outside with my moms neighbors who were moving moms pond to their house. They were almost finished but found some tadpoles in the bottom that they couldn't not catch. 

At first Charlotte asked to catch the tadpole with her hands, and was very squeamish, but after one or two she was a pro and holding them for all to check out! 

We cleaned the water so the kids could see them better.

Then after I had a moment of weakness and considered keeping the tadpoles, we dedided the best thing would be to let them go in the stream. The kids were distracted by the neighbors trampoline and asked if they could jump, so they went over for a bit before dinner. It is now at the top of their wish list!

It was a fun weekend, but the kids were exhausted, and exhausted kids usually make gym rumor kids, which we had a few of come Monday morning!

Baylie's Birthday, Spring concert and Grandparent's Day

Thursday was Baylie's 15th birthday! Though her age is showing she was still cooperative enough to sit for a photo with a party hat on! 

After we dropped Charlotte off at school, Caroline and Killian had a donut before school since we had some time to kill. They are very silly together.

Thursday night Charlotte had her spring concert at school. It is always a very long show, so Killian stayed home with his teacher from school! Chris is traveling so just Caroline and I went to school to meet Grammy and Papa. Grammy was there early and got us fabulous seats right behind first grade! 

Charlotte's class played the djembe (drums) and were fantastic. 

After a two hour show, we headed home to get the kids in bed because Friday was grandparents day at school. Mimi came over and dropped Sophie off. Baylie got locked up in the basement because she wasn't about to be nice. Once Killian woke from his nap we headed to school for a second Grandparents Day concert. 

Charlotte was thrilled to have 4 grandparents visiting, they went to music with her and read outside. 

After school, Mimi got Sophie out of the car and Charltte ran around with her friends and Sophie. 

Grammy and Papa took us out to dinner which included about 5 trips to the bathroom with various children. Once we got home it was a fun filled couple of hours getting everyone to bed. Overtired children are not easy to get to sleep! All in all it was a great couple days!