You might ask yourself, "another blog so soon?". And the answer is yes, because our days are FULL. We returned home from our Michigan trip and 5 days later we left again. Another weekend, another trip :) That's how it feels lately. This trip was our annual Ready vacation. This year's location was good old Indianapolis.
We left early on a Saturday to head to the country's largest children's museum. We spent the day playing, exploring, and learning.
The dinosaur section was really cool and included real fossils and hands-on learning. Isla really enjoyed this section!
There was an area that included superheroes, comic books, and pop culture that Ewan really liked.
Easton is our family's athlete and he really enjoyed the outdoor area with every kind of sport you could want to try. My kids learned a lot about sports in general here :)
I really enjoyed the miniature houses and the kids had fun looking for all the hidden things.
I should have known my Illinoisan children would love the farm section. Our Bloomington children's museum has a farm section that my kids spend all their time in and this was no different.
Then we took an airplane ride to Peru! We learned all about their history, culture, food, and animals.
I think Pop Pop's favorite part was the huge Chihuly glass art. Isla and I read all about the process of how that glass is blown to make such beautiful art.
My favorite part might have been the entire lower level where there was a real train to explore, artifacts and activities about ancient Egypt and ancient China, and an entire outerspace section where we enjoyed a planetarium show about Dee O'Hara.
Quick snooze and then we were off to dinner at Bub's Burgers with our own Bubba boy :)
We all stayed the night in one big house together, which we have never done as a family. All went smoothly and it was so fun watching the kids play together. Eleanor and Elouise have turned into the sweetest little friends.
The next day we headed to the Indianapolis Zoo, which we all agreed was a really great zoo. My kids, especially Isla, love zoos and they really enjoyed looking at all the different animals.
Ewan has such an infectious giggle. He kept finding all the funny animals and would just crack up until he was red in the face. He especially thought the penguins and baby orangutan were funny.
Look at that sweet baby face :)
If you know Isla, you know her love for birds. She got to hold a budgie and was SO excited.
We got to ride a fun train all around the zoo. Ewan loved when the conducter would stop and then go again, making us all jerk forward.
Then we sprinted across the zoo to the dolphin show... we couldn't miss that :)
We ended in the reptile house where Isla turned into a snake whisperer and would make all the snakes follow her finger.
We had such a lovely weekend and we are grateful to our Nana and Pop Pop for gifting us such a great weekend. Before we left the parking lot, Ewan and Eleanor were asleep and slept most of the 2.5 hours home.
When we got home both Isla and Ewan said "Oh I missed home". I love all the traveling we have done this summer (and it's not over), but I'm so glad we have a sweet place to call home that my children love and miss when we're away.
In other news, when we haven't been travelling, we have been very busy at home! Let's rewind all the way to the beginning of July (I've had this post sitting in my drafts for awhile) ... here's what we've been up to:
We had a full day at the zoo! Ewan had class with me in the morning. His favorite part about zoo class is the animal crackers and apple juice they serve at the end haha. Then we ate lunch and played at the park before Isla had zoo class in the afternoon. We've been doing zoo class since she was 3 years old and this was her first one without me. She was very nervous to go (you know, because she's homeschooled and doesn't spend a lot of time away from me ;)), but she was brave and walked right in without turning around. She had SO much fun and asked if she could do the August class, as well.
One of my favorite summer things we do is listen to music at the ampitheatre. We pick up deli sandwiches down the road, spread a blanket, and listen to the beautiful music. There's dancing and sweating and tubas :) I love it!
I have found a rare little gem of a friend group, especially as a mom. Our co-op for our children has turned into my best mama friends. We are all going on a trip in August and needed to meet to discuss the details. Since some of us recently went to an herbal mocktail event, we decided to repeat it with things from our own gardens. My friend Tara and I set up a whole display with herbs, fruits and veggies, and fresh-pressed juice all from our gardens. I even lugged my pebble ice maker to her house to make the drinks extra delicious. It was a fun night!
Garden, garden, garden. Is that all I talk about lately? Yes. So I won't talk about it, I'll just put all my pretty garden pictures here :)
We've been doing little bits of school here and there. Everyone is excited to start "real school" back up, so we'll probably start that pretty soon with an actual "first day of school". But in the meantime, the kids have been doing little bits of it. Ewan, especially, is excited to have his very own curriculum this year!
Michael and my dream is to someday own land. Unfortunately, we live in a farm-rich area where the value of land is HIGH. So while we wait for that perfect slice for our family, we will just have to enjoy our friend's houses in the country :) One weekend we had dinner at one friend's house where Isla got to collect chicken eggs and play with barn cats. Then the next day we went to our other friend's house where we got to play in the woods and run around barefoot. I'm thankful for good friends, both for myself and my children.
For co-op one week, we enjoyed Shakespeare for Young Audiences. It was a super interactive play that incorporated a lot of Shakespeare's works, as well as, components of a play like "plot" and "setting". The kids loved it and the discussion on the way home was even better!
We are lucky to have grandparents that really love our children. I'm thankful my parents have a "vacation home" in Bloomington so my kids can spend time with them. It's even nicer when my mom offers to watch the kids so I can have a day to myself :) Without those little breaks I would not have lasted this long as a stay at home mom!
We are still going to State Farm pool every week, but our pool days are coming to a close soon with school starting. So we are trying to soak it up while we can!
Our neighbor friends invited us out to Sugar Grove with them and I'm glad they did because we have missed that place. We just don't prioritize going out to the nature preserve anymore and we should. We played for almost 4 hours in the trees, in the creek, in the forts, and in the bird watching room :)
Summer has been so full for us. It feels like we have some kind of plan every day, but the little in between moments matter too. And I'm extra thankful for those moments, this life, and my babies.
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