Overnight at the Indoor Waterpark: Take 3

Because we have really enjoyed our stay at the Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark the past couple years (the waterpark part more than the sleeping at the hotel part, if you remember the first and second times we stayed), we knew we had to go again this year. Plus MiniM.E.'s waterpark birthday and her friend's waterpark birthday reminded MiniM.E. how much she loved the indoor waterpark and she's been begging to go overnight since.

This year we invited another family to join us, which definitely made the experience more exciting for everyone. And of all the times we've been, the girls definitely had the most fun this time.

After we checked in we headed straight for the waterpark and lasted about 3 hours playing and swimming.

Once it got dark the waterpark has a new lightshow, which everyone really got a kick out of. It was like swimming at a club.

By 6 or so the kids were waterlogged and it was time to eat.

After dinner the waterpark had already closed so it was time to get ready for bed.  

I would like to say we slept better than the past two years, but that would be a horrific lie. At least this year we had friends to occupy us until breakfast, and it took just the right amount of time to pack up so that once we were ready to check out the waterpark was open again.

We had even more fun on day two and spent until 3 splashing at the park. Definitely the most successful waterpark trip yet. Both girls are asking when we can go back again!

We Are ALMOST Better (I Hope!?)

So after a couple weeks of being stuck in the house trying to recover, I thought we were finally making progress... Until LittleL.G. started with the unusual fussiness yesterday after a night of not sleeping and I realized she had a fever. Again. BUT, after yet another doctor's appointment the good and bad news is that she has the flu. Good news because she also got the flu shot, and apparently the flu in a child who got the flu shot is a few days of fever and crankiness. Bad news because she is contagious for those few days and I guess I can't really call us healthy... 

That said, everyone is acting much healthier so when we had a day of unusually warm weather we went out and jumped in puddles.

And yesterday when we got snow, we went out and played in the snow, even though it was pretty chilly.

Just getting outside definitely feels better. Can't wait until we are FINALLY really healthy again.

So Long January, Glad to See You Go

As usual, the end of January turned out to be a fairly miserable couple weeks. I muscled through a couple weeks of not feeling so great, and just as I started to feel better, the kids got something. We inevitably are in the middle of a nasty virus- congestion, cough, fever and crankiness- which the doctor advised us could last another two weeks. I'm hoping two days is enough!

So we have been scraping by on the bare minimum of everything. Fighting to get our schoolwork done, just barely making it to our activities and spending a lot of time cuddled on the couch.

Hoping February brings us some relief! January is always the loooongest month of the year!

A Busy Week

Tuesday we were feeling ambitious and wanted to get out of the house, so we drove up to Moreau State Park to hike around the lake. The girls were really enthusiastic for the first half of our hike.

And the playground halfway around.

The second half of the hike was tiring for everyone but it was really nice to get out in the fresh air!

This week we are learning about volcanoes. The girls are really into it- especially this volcano bath:

And today was another chilly day to play outside, but we try to do fun things on Fridays. I had a doctor's appointment at 11:30 and we were meeting Daddy for lunch, so we figured we'd play at the playground by Daddy's work for a while before all our indoor activities.

Our First Ski Trip of the Season

There are not many things that make a child excited to go to sleep at night. Maybe Christmas Eve? But since yesterday morning MiniM.E. started counting the hours until bedtime because she was so excited to go skiing today.

We were excited too, as today was MiniM.E.'s first ever ski lesson and LittleL.G.'s first time on skis.

We dropped MiniM.E. at her lesson with only a few tears and got LittleL.G. suited up and ready to ski.

She was a little timid at first... but the magic carpet was so much fun she warmed up pretty quickly.

Of course, two year olds have a short attention span and not a ton of stamina, so after a few runs she was ready to call it quits.

We checked in on MiniM.E. who was doing a great job at her lesson

And then took a break by the outdoor fire.

MiniM.E. had a great first lesson- even though it was only on this tiny hill for 90 minutes.

After lunch she couldn't wait to try out her new skills with Daddy.

She can do the bunny hill all by herself! She asked to go again tomorrow... but we'll wait a few weeks... 

Fun Friday

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is our four-day school week. Sure, there are weeks when we have nothing planned for a Friday and decide to make school five days because the girls thrive on the schedule when we are home. But some weeks we want to go on a mid-week field trip with friends, and we can. And some weeks, we are just done after four days of school and it is so nice to look forward to a fun Friday.

Today we met up with another homeschooling mom and kids at the Tree Paad. When we did our "year in review" worksheet MiniM.E. put down one of her favorite memories as playing at the Tree Paad, so I knew she would be excited. LittleL.G. is usually not a big fan, but this time, she was surprisingly willing to play in the fort with just MiniM.E. Which I was hugely thankful for because honestly, I am getting much huger, and climbing through a fort was NOT on my list of fun things to do today.

So the girls had a blast and got out tons of energy.

The best part of the day, MiniM.E. tried her hand at rock climbing for the first time and LOVED it.

She can't wait to go back and try again.  LittleL.G. can't wait to "grow bigger" so she can climb too!

A Gorgeous Day

Today we had a little glimpse of spring. I know it's early and we are destined for more snowy cold days, but after the last two weeks of chilly weather and the struggle to get back in the swing of things, today's warm weather was just the pick me up we all needed.

We spent the whole afternoon outside!

2017: Could be the Best Year Yet

2016 was a pretty fantastic year. If I thought the girls had an amazing bond in 2015, it has only grown and strengthened in the last year. Sure, there are more disputes and spats as MiniM.E. tries to keep her role as the leader and boss and LittleL.G. asserts her independence. But MiniM.E. is like LittleL.G.'s second mom and LittleL.G. idolizes MiniM.E. and tries to be just like her all the time. We took some great trips to VA, Sesame Place, and Lake Owasco. We jumped into our first year of homeschooling. And we've had so many great days and happy moments.

I am so excited to watch the girls' relationship grow in the year to come.

And we are all also incredibly excited to welcome a new little guy to love in early May.

Week One of 2017: Done

I am not a huge January fan. I love the Christmas season, so January always brings the big let down after the holidays. In the years since we've had kids, we have always been sick for more than half the month. And it's cold out and snowy and dark.

The beginning of the week started out pretty well, but as the week wore on, I started to feel under the weather, the girls were over the novelty of being back at "school" and we were all missing the feelings of the holidays.

After a long week, we still had to fill our Saturday with taking down all the Christmas decorations and errands which put everyone in a worse mood still.

Yesterday we were in desperate need of a pick me up, so we headed to the bowling alley after church.

Definitely lifted everyone's spirits. Here's looking forward to a better week 2!