Slow Down Summer...

Does anyone else feel that summer is just flying by??  I can't believe the speed at which time travels when the days are warm... the work is less... and the kids are generally happier just because they can get OUT so much more. It's these good, good days that get us through the winter blahs.... and man, do I hate winter.  :-(

It's been quite some time since I posted. We've just been so darn busy - which is a good, good thing! I was reading Leslie's blog the other day and she was saying how since she is home more and working less, that she feels she can DO so much more with her girls.  I could NOT agree more!!!  It hasn't been that long that I've been part-time and I really, really appreciate the fact that I am part-time so much more than I thought possible!  It truly is the best of both worlds.  (pardon the Hannah reference!)

On the days that I am home with the kids, I have pretty much given up on trying to get too much done around the house or otherwise. We try to get out a lot more... go to playdates so my kids can play with other kids - especially Luke who needs this interaction.... go to the pool.... the playground... even running some errands and making that process fun is better than being cooped up with my kids in my house!  They are not home-bodies in any way..... usually the words "stay home day" are met with moans and groans.

The days we DO stay home... we try to make it fun around here.  Slip and slide... the baby pool.... games of Go Fish and Memory... and having picnics on our deck.  These are the things our summer has been filled with lately.......

Last week, Scott was able to take a couple days off and we got to do some pretty special things as a family.  How much easier is it to do these things with a partner??  :-)  So, Thursday, the kids and I went to a playdate at Nicole's while Scott did some things around the house so we could play the rest of our long weekend together.  We came home and took naps (me included!) and went to Klavon's for dinner.  We came back cuz for some reason I was feeling pretty wiped out (fighting some sort of bug that lasted days) and Luke and I went to bed and Ally and Scott went on a bike ride.  Ally got her love of bike riding from her Daddy and I could not be more proud! She can ride the Falling Water Trail with the best of 'em!!!

Friday, we decided to take the kids to the East Lansing Aquatic Center AND Jumpin' Jax, a bounce house up in East Lansing as well.  We kicked off our day at the Aquatic Center and the kids loved it as they always do.  My kids were born to swim!!!!  The sand area was also a HUGE hit... my kids were also born to get dirty... unlike their Mama who can't stand the feeling of dirt in my hands (I'm sure there is some psycho-analysis that needs to be performed on this one!).  :-)

The biggest hit, as always, was the snack bar... the nachos and pizza. Such healthy food at the pools ya know?  ;-)

After we left the Aquatic Center, we went to Eastwood Towne Center to get a snack and hit up the bookstore.  We are a family of avid readers.... Ally got a new Ramona book (her current fave) and Luke made a mess of all the stuffed toys.  Good times.

We went to Jumpin' Jax after the snack and bookstore... a bounce house just down the street from Eastwood.  Ally loved it. LOVED IT!  Luke - not so much. It was a little too "big" for him and even the toddler area overwhelmed him. Luckily, they have a bunch of Little Tykes toys (kitchen, slides, etc) set up as well, so he enjoyed those things while Ally bounced her little heart out!

We left East Lansing and decided to travel home so Luke could at least get a little nap in. For having no nap at all, he was being quite the trooper!  So, we decided it was a nice night to sit outside at Los Tres and enjoy some Mexican food!  It was a perfect ending to a great day!!!

Saturday, it was supposed to be rainy, so we decided that we would head up to the Grand Rapids Children's museum where the Curious George exhibit was just waiting for us!  :-)  Luke (and even Ally) loves Curious George.... so we put on our George shirt and made the trek up to GR!

The museum is the best children's museum I've been to yet!  We walked in the door and the kids were just OFF!  Luke was so giddy he just ran from thing to thing..... it was adorable.  I didn't stop smiling at them the entire time we were there. They were just so excited and happy to try everything!  

Good, good times at the museum!!!!  We closed the place out.  We golfed, made bubbles, played drums, sent and sorted mail, played grocery store, played restaurant, read, created a puppet show, played with mirrors, played with rocks, saw honey bees and found the queen, created shadow puppets, learned how to use a conveyer, went fishing, played in a barn, planted a garden... whew... the list goes on and on....

After all that, we decided to hit Chuck E Cheese on our way back home.... we have never been, and honestly, I don't think we will go again.  Not our kind of place.  Horrid, horrid food.... and at least the one in Lansing, was not very clean. The kids had fun though and we got them in and out of there in about an hour.  ;-)  I'm glad we tried it at least!  Live and learn!

Sunday... we laid low and stayed home.... oh and Ally and I ran out to do a little shopping in the afternoon while Luke and Daddy napped. What weekend is complete without a little shopping???  :-)

We are going to continue to eek all we can out of the rest of our summer!!!!!!