Summer Week 3

Now that it is the last day of June, I thought I'd better get my summer week 3 up before the month is over! We've been sticking to our routine of Monday: trip day, Tuesday: trail day, Wednesday: friends day, Thursday: mom day and Friday: library day. 

Monday we hit up Union Park and had fun in the splash pad and with the big rocket slide. The carousel was down (closed on Mondays) so we'll have to make another trip over there this summer! 

On Tuesday, we explored the Raccoon River Valley trail. We started in Dallas Center and rode about three miles out and three miles back which took us about an hour. It is a beautiful trail and a nice reminder how lovely the landscape is over by Dallas Center. 

On Wednesday we had a friend and classmate from our neighborhood over and it was a nice change of pace! I also had my municipal band concert where we celebrated 100 years. 

Thursday is mom day! I ran some errands (target and fareway) and also took a little hike at Jester Park since it was a beautiful day. Our babysitter has been a lifesaver this summer...just getting out of the house for a little bit has been huge for me. 

Thursday night we packed up a picnic supper and met friends at Dean park in Ankeny. It was a beautiful night and was a fun park to let kids run. 

Friday was our Adventureland day! 

On Saturday my mom stuck around an extra day and Scott and I snuck out for a date night/late father's day celebration. We went to Cool Basil for dinner (our eyes were bigger than our stomachs!) and a concert at the river front. We saw Collective Soul and it was full on nineties music in its finest. We are so thankful my mom is so helpful and it was a nice evening out. I had fun doing my hair and makeup and not wearing exercise clothing. Wow! 

That's our week three and the end of June!! 

Adventureland 2016

Last Friday, my parents took my family to Adventureland for a day of fun! We had a great time! 

We headed over in the morning and checked into the hotel right away. Tip, if you are staying at the hotel you can park in their parking lot and avoid the $10 regular lot fee. You can also take the trolley from the lobby! We got into the park around 11:30 and did a few rides with the girls that they were not too happy about. It is hard to remember that they are just still a year old and so I think maybe next summer they will be feeling braver. 

Michael, Denise and I stood in line for the raging river which had a huge line. We ended up waiting for an hour...so slow! Luckily we passed the time pretty quickly playing copy cat and "guess that Disney movie". We all go totally soaked which was good because we headed straight to the waterpark next.  

My mom rented a cabana which was so nice! It was great to have a landing place for all our stuff and it even had a locked cabinet if you needed to leave your things while swimming. The shade was really nice and it kept the girls corralled which is probably the biggest bonus. 

The girls LOVED the sprayground and also the kiddie pool...but the kiddie pool is quite the hike from the sprayground. My feet were definitely hurting from walking around on the pavement all day, not sure what a solution would be but something to think about for next time. Aqua socks? Do they make orthopedic inserts for those? 

Michael LOVED the wave pool which really surprised me as it really is for bigger kids. It was fun to watch him having a good time. I am also thankful that they had racks and racks of life jackets for kids to use- something we didn't think about bringing! 

My brother and his family also joined us and it was so nice to see both their babies. They are growing so fast! Adventureland is right in their backyard so I am fantasizing about the day where the girls can all run around together and my sister in law and I can sit back and enjoy our margaritas. Goals, right? 

My mom booked us a suite at the Adventureland hotel which was so nice. It was a beautiful room and we had fun swimming again the next day. The little kids pool is so perfect for younger kids! 

I think it is safe to say we had a great time! It wasn't the easiest trip with wrangling all my cranky children but everyone stayed flexible and it worked out really nicely. Mom did buy Scott a park pass that he didn't use so I am hoping either he or I can sneak Michael out again for another day of fun before the summer is over! 

p.s., I totally bought an underwater camera for our upcoming Mexico trip and it is SO FUN!!!! I think it is my new favorite thing! 

Summer week 2

Summer week 2! On Monday, our trip day, we went to the zoo for the morning. We got there right as they opened and enjoyed the cooler temps and low crowds for a few hours. Michael had fun getting his face painted and the girls were so good. They all loved the free train ride! We also saw something we had never seen before: a bleeding heart pigeon who looked like it was hurt in his chest. It really looked real but it was just his feathers! 

Tuesday was our trail day and we took our bikes to Big Creek park to ride the trails there. We also played for a bit at the playground until a big busload of school kids came and then we met my sister for lunch for her birthday. It was probably our longest outing out of the house and everyone did great. 

On Wednesday, we went to the Science Center for the morning. I ended up buying a pass for the year since I also needed to renew our zoo pass. I think it will pay for itself even if we go a few more times. The kids had fun playing in the toddler area and Michael loved racing the lego cars. We watched a show about black holes in the sky theater (which made me a little sick) and the girls were so good during an IMAX movie about the national parks. 

On Thursday, our neighbor girl came over for a bit so I could run out of the house for some errands and a hair appointment. The kids were so being so cranky all morning, I really needed the break! Our girl comes for lunch and then rest time so I hope it is pretty easy for her. I sure appreciate the break and it gives me something to look forward to all week. 

We had been playing outside and the girls were messy and due for a bath so we also did messy food night! They had so much fun eating their messy foods since we only do it occasionally. 

And finally, on Friday we swung by Krispy Kreme for a snack before library time and they were actually making donuts!!! The girls got a hot one off the line and it was like nothing I had ever tasted before. The girls did great again at library time and we got Michael some extra books since we'll miss next week for Adventureland. 

Thanks for stopping by!