Adventureland 2013

 

Last week, we made our second annual trek to Adventureland Amusement park for a day of fun. We had a little better strategy this year after our trip last year which was mainly to do the water park first. It is way back in the rear of the park and it is less busy in the morning and gets packed in the afternoon. So we we wore our swimsuits and headed there first. To say Michael had a ball would be a complete understatement. He had so much fun. He loved the slides, the splashers and the wave pool. 

 

Scott joined us around 3pm and we went on some rides as a family- the Raging River and the Log Ride were big favorites. We also went to the circus at Adventureland which was a first for me and it was pretty good! 

My parents were camping at the Adventureland campground so we went back for dinner and some rest. It is a nice campground and it is nice to get away from the park for a bit. It is just a short walk or a tram ride away from the park. We went back for the last hour the park was open and did a few more rides and enjoyed an ice cream cone (do not ever get your child the "Scooper Hero" flavor- it is sooo messy!). 

Thank you for the fun day, Mom & Dad! Let's do it again next year!  

Here is our post from last year's trip! 

Adventure Bay Tips for Families at desmoinesparent.com

Adventureland Amusement Park Tips article (by me) at desmoinesparent.com

Summer

This is summer. 

Ohhh yeah. 

We love it. 

Union Park

Michael and I headed to Union Park last week for some exploring. It has been on our summer list and I've been waiting for the perfect day to make the trek over there. It was sooo worth it and we had a blast. Union park is one of the oldest parks in Des Moines and you just feel like you have gone back in time when you arrive. I loved it. 

 

Michael has been before with his daycare, as they go on Fridays to swim and play. However, he is not going to daycare on Fridays in the summer so he only gets to go with his friends a few times in June when I'm still in school and the a few times in August when I go back. Michael knew exactly where we were going and love, love, loved the rocket slide. He calls this park, "the rocket park". We played, swam, ate a picnic lunch under the big old shade trees, rode the carousel and played some more. It was the perfect summer day.

I'd never been to the Heritage Carousel and thank you to all the friends who go every year to recommend it to me! It is a beauty and a Des Moines treasure for sure. I loved all the animals and the scenes painted on the inside. The carousel was built in 1998 as an inexpensive way for families and children to have an enjoyable and affordable experience.

 We just had the best time and will be going back for sure before summer is over!

I also started writing for desmoinesparent.com at the recommendation of my friend Kara. I wrote up a quick article after our visit to the park. Please check it out! 

Click here for Des Moines Parent Article

Summer Home List

In addition to my summer fun list of 2013, I also have a smaller, more personal "Home Organization" list that I started drafting this spring. So many things were just getting tossed into closets and on to shelves that nothing was functioning well and it was driving me bonkers. So I've been trying to dedicate some time to it over the summer so things will be functioning better when it is time to go back to school in the fall.

I had already tackled my pantry, hallway closet and laundry room and up next was Michael's closet and room. He has a huge closet but so much room was being taken up by things poorly organized or outgrown. Here is the before:

This project also coincides with organizing this little bookshefl in the living room since most of the stuff from this shelf was moving into Michael's room. Here is that before:

I moved all the kid stuff into Michael's room and the big stack of books into the guest bedroom. I then had space to move my photo albums which were eating up room on top of my media cabinets in the living room. Ahh...isn't that better already?

Since most of the stuff on the bookshelf was books, I went to work organizing Michael's bookshelf in his room. He really needs a nice big new shelf but that isn't in the budget at this point so I did what I could on his little one, moving the larger volumes to the top of his dresser and some of the smaller books to the smaller bookshelf by his bed (which used to have toys...which moved to the closet).

So far, so good- right? I felt like I needed all the books corralled in one location. We only read books in his room unless he brings them from his room to another room. The books in the living room just plain weren't getting read so I felt fine about keeping them all in one central location. Also...this makes me realize we may have a slight book problem. 

Next up was cleaning out Michael's closet and getting rid of the junk the baby things and the things he has outgrown. The wire baskets were filled to the brim with crib bedding and blankets. All of these were sorted and went either to a goodwill pile or into a storage tub. The same for his clothes- I weeded out three whole bags to go to goodwill and another huge bag for storage. Once the baskets were empty, I started filling them with toy baskets. I even had a whole drawer empty and ready for any little toy set that needs a home! 

Most of the toys Michael keeps in his room are things that are sets or have small pieces that need to stay together. We also keep games in here and it is nice we can keep them all together one space. He also now has room for his play tent and stroller parking in the bottom of his closet and well as his basket of puzzles that look messy on a shelf.

We also have some baby stuff stored way up on top in the closet- extra wipes, diapers and feeding supplies mostly.

Donation pile, plus 3 whole bags of trash (already outside)

The best news about his closet is that you can shut the doors and (in the words of Don Draper)- it will scare you how much this never happened. 

I am so excited that Michael's closet is now good storage for toys and his shelves are good places for all his books. It just feels so much nicer walking into his room- like a breath of fresh, organized air. 

Thanks for coming on my organization journey with me!

InstaFriday

Happy Friday!

This week we visited the Union Park Heritage Carousel- so fun! I have a full blown blog post about it coming up later but just thought I would share our teasers from my iphone.

 

My favorite Target got new carts. This is incredibly exciting to me for some reason. These are all the old ones stacked away outside the store.  RIP, little soldiers. You have served me and lots of other housewives well.

 

Michael is just growing like a weed this summer. It must be all the fresh air and sunshine. And Miracle Grow? (ha.ha.) 

Wasn't it just yesterday he had to sit at the bar in his little chair that hung off the counter?  This is one of his favorite spots to perch and I love it.

 

My potted plants are growing, growing, growing! I love fussing over them every day and watering them first thing in the morning. They are a treat to me-like a bouquet that lasts all summer long!

 

We also squeezed in a trip to the Blank Park Zoo last week to check it off our summer fun list. We made the mistake of going on a Friday...it was so busy!  I think Michael had the most fun playing at the park outside of the zoo....next time we will just pack a lunch and do that (kidding).

 

My sister Denise also came down for a visit to eat dinner and hang out with Michael. I am so glad she is close by and even though our life is considerably less exciting than college life, I think sometimes you need a little respite from it all.  We "celebrated" her birthday belatedly just so Michael could sing her Happy Birthday and blow out candles.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Friends Summer Weekend: Saturday

 

Saturday morning we headed out for a round of mini golf. The guys had talked about going real golfing but this seemed really fun also and the kids could come along, too!  We checked out West Grand Golf in West Des Moines which I pretty much had no idea existed. It was a super cute mini golf course.

 

 

Michael did a great job hitting the ball around but the other boys were getting restless so we headed to my favorite local park to play: Jester Park! 

I haven't been since the flowers started blooming and wow- it so beautiful. I love it there. 

After we got home it was naptime for the littles and party prep time for me. On the menu were: 

Mojitos

Blueberry Mint Lemonade

Boulevard Wheat Keg (from Urbandale HyVee)

Fancy Hot Dogs and Brats (from Food Depot in Grimes)

I thought in attempts to keep things simple we would provide the dogs, brats, buns and drinks and everyone else could bring sides and desserts. It worked out well and we had a big spread of food. It was all delish! 

 

 

I really wanted to decorate with fresh flowers I had in the yard but nothing was blooming. However, I do have mint coming out of my ears so--voila! It looked pretty cute in a mason jar and smelled great too. 

I managed to snap a few photos throughout the night but not as many as I had hoped. Once again...I do have that baby problem so I apologize if you bring a super cute, chubby baby into my house. :o) 

I think people had a great time. It was beautiful outside, the beer was flowing and the food was plenty. We even had some catches out of our pond!

Thanks to everyone for helping us celebrate a beautiful summer Friends Weekend!