Summer Vacay, Day 2

Day 2:

Guess what time we woke up this morning?  Yep, 4:30 AM!  Keeping the kids quiet in the hotel room was definitely the hardest thing about it.  Today was going to be a full day and I was hoping we'd all sleep in a little more... but, it wasn't happening.

Stephen drove us into downtown Seattle and dropped us off at the Seattle Center.  We purchased City Passes online before we got out here.

These City Passes are great- they allow you to get into several attractions at a discounted price.  (and Parker was free everywhere!) It helped me plan out what to do in Seattle, since there is so much we could've done.  The Seattle Center housed 3 of these attractions, plus lots of other entertainment, so I planned for us to stay here all day.  We got there at 7:45 AM, before anything was open, so we played on this awesome playground called Artists at Play.  It's hard to describe this playground, but hopefully the pictures will show you.  It was incredible!  At this early hour, we had the whole playground to ourselves.

Around 8:15, we walked over to the Space Needle, one of the City Pass attractions.  We beat the crowd and rode the elevator 41 seconds to the top.  At the top, there were 360 degree views of the mountains, the city skyline, the Puget Sound, houses, and more.  Sydney is as scared of heights as I am, so she couldn't get back down soon enough.

Riding the elevator up.

I subtly took a picture of the picture they make you take when you first get there.  Notice my reflection? ;)

After the Space Needle, we walked around.  I got a Starbucks drink (when in Rome, right?), and we went back to the playground for more playtime.  At 10 AM, the next attraction opened- the EMP Museum.  This was one cool, unique museum about music and Sci Fi stuff.  Most of the stuff inside was a little over the kids' heads, but they liked it, regardless.  When we walked in, there was a HUGE screen playing music videos.  Sydney was enthralled.  We walked around until we found a cool video game room.  The kids had no idea how to play the games, but they had fun trying.  There were lots of movie costumes and props, simulation games, and more.

The funky EMP museum.

The big screen.  Look how small Sydney looks in comparison.

There was a whole exhibit on Nirvana, Seattle's hometown band.

Hoverboards from Back to the Future.

Space simulation.

They took a picture of our journey- Serene Lumpy Planetoid. (??)

After this museum, we walked over to this food court to eat some lunch.  Then, we headed to the Pacific Science Center!  This cool museum was kind of a mix of a science museum and a children's museum.  They were also offering a free IMAX movie today.  Whoop!  This was a fun way to spend a few hours.  The kids played with many different things, we watched an IMAX movie on National Parks, saw some dinosaurs, and more!

Stephen was supposed to come get us between 3:30 and 4 PM, but his meeting ran over.  We walked around the Seattle Center, visited the fountains, got some snacks, played again on the (now really crowded) playground, and then Stephen came to get us a little before 5 PM.

They had their fleece jackets tied around their waists, which made them FLY down this slide!

We headed straight to one of Stephen's client friend's houses in Seattle, Garrett and his wife, Whitney, and their 2 little girls.  They had invited us over for dinner.  I was a little worried about the time difference and if our kids would be super cranky by 6 PM, but thankfully, they behaved well and had a blast!  Their house was super cute, a typical Seattle residence like what we'd seen all over the city.  The houses are very different from Georgia!  Smaller, closer together, teeny yards, but lots of character, lots of greenery, no AC, shared driveways, awesome views.  We ate dinner, the kids played, we chatted, and then headed home!  We didn't go to bed until 10 PM tonight, which surprisingly was okay, and I think it helped with getting over the jetlag!

Mrs. Whitney made this cute video :)

Here's Day 3!

Summer Vacay, Day 1

The kiddos and I tagged along on one of Stephen's business trips out west this past week!  Stephen had to go see clients Monday and Tuesday in Seattle, which is a city I have always wanted to go see.  He then took the rest of the week off to hang with us, traveling down to Oregon.  I'll break our trip down into days, otherwise it'll be circuit overload.  We did a lot in these 6 days!

Day 1:

We woke up early Sunday morning and headed to the airport to catch our 10:55 AM flight.  The flight itself was great- we all had our own tvs, the kiddos had their new headphones, and we could all watch what we wanted to watch!  Parker slept for half of the flight, so he was no trouble.  K-Bashes for the win!

Mt. Rainier is an incredible site, even from the plane!

We landed in Seattle around 1 PM, got our rental car, and headed to Seward Park- a park I had read about online with a playground and great views of Mt. Rainier.  And it didn't disappoint!  Mt. Rainier is really amazing- its big, snow-covered top sticks way above the horizon.  It's unique because it is by itself, not surrounded by other mountains.  (At least, none that are noticeable)  Sunday was a beautiful day so we got some great views of it.  The kiddos played on the playground, and we walked around some of the trails before heading towards our hotel.

Our ride for the week!  I swore I'd never get a minivan but I'm glad I insisted on one for this week!  It was (gulp) actually pretty awesome.  Very roomy.

We stayed in the city of Redmond, which is about 30 minutes outside of Seattle, and is home to Microsoft.  Our hotel was right by the City Center, which was a very cool, new area of shops, restaurants, movie theater, play area, and more.  The time change was starting to hit us, as did our hunger and crankiness.  We ate dinner at 5 PM PST, then came back to the hotel, and crashed by 8 PM.

The city center where we stayed!

Want to read about day 2?

Summer, week 4

Monday: I dropped the kiddos off at a nearby church's VBS this morning.  We found the girls' groups, they got their t-shirts, and they stayed in the gym.  Then, we headed to the sanctuary where the pre-school kiddos' groups were, and we found Parker's group.  He got his t-shirt, cried a bit when I left (I hugged him and ran!) and I met my mom!  We went to a couple of stores, leisurely walked around, grabbed some lunch, and then went back at 12:30 to get the kiddos.  We spied on Parker, who was sitting happily with his crew.  He was soooo excited to see Grandmom.  Then, we went and got the girls (who were equally excited to see her!).  We all went to Burger King so the kiddos could get some lunch and have some more Grandmom time.  After that, we went home, I went for a walk while the kids stayed with Stephen (it was HOT) and then we played with water balloons!  

Tuesday:  You can read about Tuesday's adventures right here.  I am happy to say that the day looked up, we all cheered up, the kiddos were excellent the rest of the evening (even wanting to help me clean!  Yay!).  We had plans to meet some friends from church at the park for a late-afternoon playdate, but it ended up raining, so we had to reschedule.  So it's a good thing everyone cheered up, since we were stuck inside!

Wednesday: Parker and I took the girls to VBS, and then we ventured to the Mall of GA to finally do those returns.  We went to a couple of stores, grabbed lunch at Panera Bread, and then it was time to head back and get the girls!  When we got home, I ran to the gym and the grocery store, and when I got home, our friends Angie, Nathan, and Natalie came over to play for a bit.  That evening, we went to church for our first summer small group (it's a random combination of people, kind of like a come-when-you're-in-town group.  There's a pot-luck dinner, a bible study, and the kids get to play!  Definitely a big win for everybody).  

Like the clearance pillow cover I got at Target??  I do!

Thursday: The girls went to VBS in the morning, and Parker and I ran a few errands- gas, Goodwill, and Kroger.  We were going to go to the park and I was going to get a good run/walk in while pushing Parker in the jogging stroller, but it was already H-O-T.  So, what did we do instead?  Only the logical choice.  Hit up the new doughnut establishment!  When I walked in, the girl behind the counter looked super familiar, but I couldn't exactly place her.  Parker and I ordered Parker's choice of a doughnut to share (pink frosted with sprinkles) and then the girl said- I feel like I know you from somewhere.  Are you a teacher?  Turns out I taught her about 8 years ago, the year I was moved from special ed to regular ed mid-year, and taught the regular ed group from January-May.  She was in my class!  All these memories came back for both of us, we were talking about all the kids in the class, who her boyfriend was, etc.  She is now recently married (I feel so old!) and lives not too far away from us.  It was a great blast from the past.  We went home and not before too long, we had to head back out to pick up the girls.  We came home and chilled around the house all day.  The girls stayed up late to watch the men's USA soccer game.


Friday: Last day of VBS!  Parker and I ran an errand and hung around the house until it was time to pick the girls up.  We went early so we could watch the end of the day, where they wrap up the week and sing all their songs.  The church is getting a new pastor, so they had a surprise for him- lots of signs, confetti, and silly string!  The girls enjoyed their week here.  That evening, we headed over to our church friend's house for a little pool party/cook out to meet our new pastor.  It was a small get-together of people, so it was nice to get to sit and chat with her.  The kids got to swim- Taylor is really kicking butt with swimming now!- we ate dinner, and went home around 9 PM.

Sydney has been super-creative this summer, doing all sorts of crafty things on her own.  This is our family!

Gotta love this unitard of a swimsuit.  

Saturday: Ahh, what a nice, uneventful day.  Stephen took the girls with him to a park.  He ran almost 4 miles while they biked with him.  Meanwhile, Parker and I snuggled in bed until they got home.  ;)  I actually did go to the park myself to walk/run, and then I hit up some stores.  The rest of the day was spent cleaning up, playing outside, teaching Taylor how to ride her bike without training wheels (!!) and celebrating Stephen for Father's Day after dinner!  

Holding up their Father's Day trophies they made for Stephen at Home Depot.

Parker giving Stephen his gift!

 

Sydney reading her "Dad Libs" to him!

Rough day

Man, today was rough.  Let me preface this to say that I know there are way worse issues in the world than what my day was like.  I'm not trying to sound like "woe is me".  Well, maybe a little bit.  But I do think it's important to feel frustrations every once in a while (or, lately, daily) so that you can appreciate the good and peaceful moments more.  So, come and share in my frustrating day with me.

Today was day 2 of a week-long morning VBS for my kiddos.  I signed them up for this with maybe 50% being the right reason.  I 50% selfishly wanted 3 hours of "me" time each day... time to do returns, pack, grocery shop, exercise, really, whatever.  And for $15 a kid, friendly faces that we recognized, and guaranteed out-of-the-house entertainment, this was something I've been counting on for weeks.  In fact, I put off doing certain things so I could do them during these 3 hours each day.

The only thing I didn't factor in was the recently-grown attachment Parker has to me.  He never wants me to leave him.  Last week at my church's VBC, he wouldn't go to his group.  He would either go with Taylor's group or just sit by me.  I thought that maybe it was because I was there the whole time, and he had to walk by me a lot.  I truly believed this week would be different since I wouldn't be there.  Plus, it was at his former school, for goodness' sake.  It had to be good, right?  We talked it up prior to him going and it didn't appear that it would be so much of an issue.

Yesterday, he cried when I dropped him off.  The poor, cute teenagers took him off my hands, and I warned them that he'd cry but hopefully it wouldn't last long after I left.  When I went to pick him up, he was happy and they told me that he got over it fairly quickly.

Today, same thing.  Tears.  I quickly exited the building, only to hear his echoing wails.  I headed to the Mall of GA, where I had to return a few things to one store outside of the mall.  I was 25 minutes into the 30 minute drive, and... my phone rings.  It was a lady from the church.  She was the one who dealt with him yesterday and today (she wasn't a teeanger, this lady was probably in her 40s).  She told me that he's throwing temper tantrums and that I need to come and get him.  She wasn't really rude, but seemed a bit put-out.  My mind was like... crap.  I just need to return these things.  (I have 3 more days before my 30-day time frame to return them is up).  I told her I was almost at the mall and would be almost 30 minutes away, and she seemed a bit aggravated.  (I was going to see if I could add in the ~15 additional minutes so I could get the returns over with, but I could tell that wasn't an option).  I tried calling Stephen to see if he could get Parker (he would be closer) but he was on a conference call.  I turned my little electric car around, soooo close to my destination, and headed back to get Parker.

When I arrived, he wasn't even crying.   Granted, I believe them that he was and that he wouldn't participate.  Parker knew exactly what he was doing and was very happy I was there, though a little stand-offish with me, knowing I wasn't going to be happy.  I got a little upset, telling the ladies my dilemma- I hate leaving him to be dealt with by others while he's so upset, but I also don't want him to think that he can pitch a fit and get his way.  It's a tough situation to know how to handle correctly.  And I don't think I handled it correctly, but I did what I felt I should do.  I didn't go back to the mall (I really didn't feel like driving 30 minutes back that direction, and then 30 minutes back to the church.  Plus, I don't think I had enough battery life and charging it would take time.)  Instead, I took him home, and told him that "fun" is not what we would have.  I told him to go to his room- no tv, no phone, no tablet, no me to play with.  I got a lot of stuff around the house done while he played by himself.  I told him how upset I was with him.  He cried a few times.  I told him that he was supposed to be at VBS, having a lot of fun with new friends, and now, at home, he'd be doing the opposite.  I was feeling completely defeated and frustrated.  I hardly said 5 words to him all morning.  I wanted him to know that he didn't get his way in the end.

When it was time to pick up the girls, Parker and I were driving there and a car slowly backed out of a driveway on a main road and pulled out right in front of us, causing us to go off into the ditch.   She and her freaking jaguar continued to back up, coming within feet of us on the side of the road.  I'm blowing my horn but she acted like she couldn't hear. She finally glanced at me and gave a little casual wave, as if I had just let her go first at an intersection.  She had earbuds in her ears and looked like she was talking to someone or singing to herself.  I yelled some choice words out the window at her.  On top of all the feelings of defeat, then this lady almost causing us to wreck and act so nonchalantly about it... oh, my blood was boiling.

Thankfully, we made it safely to the church to get the girls.  Sydney was screaming on the way home about having to go to the bathroom.  SCREAMING.  Parker was doing everything he could to annoy her, and she was crying and yelling, like she was the toddler.  I had to pull over in a parking lot to raise my voice and talk some sense into them.  Or "yell" some sense into them.

We made it home, and I sent all 3 to their rooms.  I literally sat down, feeling exhausted.  I don't know the answers.  I don't know how to fix any of these issues.  I don't know how to teach your child how to act appropriately besides telling them and showing them.  If they don't want to do it, or choose not to do it, what can you do?  Punish them, yes.  But they'll do it again!

I was so exhausted that I ended up taking a 2 hour nap in Taylor's bed.  The kids' moods improved, as did mine.  While I was sleeping, the girl in charge of the VBS left me a message.  She wanted to say she was sorry that they had to call me about Parker, and she heard through the grapevine that the person who called me wasn't very polite and professional.  She said she would have handled what she said a little differently.  She said she'd love for Parker to come back tomorrow and try again, and I'm welcome to come be with him if I think he'd prefer that.  I got back to her, telling her thank you, nothing was a big deal (about the lady who called) but that I was going to keep Parker out the rest of the week.  So much for my free time.  People keep telling me this is just a season, and I know that's true.  And I'm super thankful and blessed to have a 3.5 year old to be frustrated with.  But, being a mom is hard.  These days can be difficult.  And I really wish I knew the answers.  If you know them, please share.

Nature scavenger hunt!

We did our yearly nature scavenger hunt today!

Here's what we had to find:

1) Pine cone.

2) A plant that's taller than you.

3) A piece of bark.

4) A shiny rock.

Hard to tell, but it looked like it looked like there was glitter all over it! 

5) A rock that's as big as your hand, or bigger!

6) Something fuzzy. 

Moss!

7) A pink flower.

8) A stick shaped like a Y.

9) An orange flower.

10) A big leaf. 

11) A funny shaped leaf.