The DOME. The Superior Dome is part of Northern Michigan University (click on the word for some interesting facts...from wikipedia :). It used to be the biggest wooden dome in the WHOLE WORLD...but then I heard that Japan made a bigger one. What can you do? We like to take the little monkeys there to get out their energy. It's open to the public for walking/running from 6am-10pm on weekdays. Perfect. It's only a few bocks from the house, and we try to take them once a week. We have Anna and Ben-Ben do races, chase tennis balls, climb the bleachers, etc. (Seriously, it's like we're walking our dogs...but they're our kids. hehe.) Anna and Ben have TONS of fun when we go. Sometimes, something especially entertaining will be at the Dome. Like bounce houses. Or a Football game. Or an RV show. Or a MOMs play group. Or a track meet. Or Kaleidoscope.
Kaleidoscope is a yearly fun day for kids, with all kinds of educational stuff to do. I took the kids last Saturday, and they had a blast. I, on the other hand, was completely overwhelmed. Since Caleb was born, I've thought about a million different times, "I had no idea how easy I had it. Two kids was a piece of cake!" But, not on Saturday. Ethan had to work (internship), so it was just me. Anna and Ben both wanted to do different things, there were tons of people there, the kiddos were both a little impatient, and Benjamin almost pulled a fire alarm. A FIRE ALARM. That would have been awful. *understatement* He really just didn't know what it was. Still, I told Benjamin Bear if he pulled one, it might sting him, the noisy fire trucks would come, and they would probably put him in jail.
Yep, I lied.
But, it worked.
Anyway, the kids did have fun. But, because of the reasons mentioned above, we didn't stay as long as planned. Their favorites were the Karate training kids could try out, and a big parachute thing kids and parents played with together, as seen above.
DRESS UP. My kiddos love to dress up. And I love when my kiddos dress up. And, sometimes, I love to dress up with my kiddos. Most of our dress-up box has come from rummage sales, past Halloween costumes, older cousin hand me downs, my old costumes, Christmas/birthday presents, or dollar section finds at Target. (I LOVE Target's dollar section.)
So, I love how creative and hilarious Anna and Ben-Ben can be, especially when they're dressing up. Their little make-believe world becomes even more detailed and intricate when costumes and props are involved. It makes me smile. Above, Anna says she is dressed like a secret agent...she's been BIG into secret agents and spies lately. *Hat courtesy of Grampa Chuck, glasses courtesy of me - they're fake, and fancy shoes courtesy of a past birthday present.* Benjamin's costume is pretty self explanatory. He's really drawn to "girl" costumes, and I'm pretty sure it's because he looks up to his big sister so much. Well, I hope that's the reason. hehe.
The final picture above is Caleb, lounging on the couch with his Grampa Dew. I didn't want the babers to feel left out of this post. And, I wanted to show his most FAVORITE hang out spot. Seriously, he loves hanging out on the couch. I think it makes him feel grown up, and just one of the fam, instead of "the baby." I could be wrong.
DAIRY. Jilbert's Dairy, that is. In my last post, I mentioned Good Behavior Charts. That is the first one Benjamin filled up. And that is him at Jilbert's Dairy enjoying his chosen reward. Besides the ice cream, which both kids of course devoured, the Viewing Area was also a big hit. There are large windows so you can observe the "assembly line" for the different types of milk. I had to pull them away after about 10 minutes, but they were in AWE. It made me feel good, because: Giving my kids ice cream...not the healthiest thing (although it was the junior $1 size). BUT, giving my kids an educational experience that they still talk about...very good thing. *Anna filled her chart, and chose to have a spa party with me. I'll post about that later.*
Kaleidoscope is a yearly fun day for kids, with all kinds of educational stuff to do. I took the kids last Saturday, and they had a blast. I, on the other hand, was completely overwhelmed. Since Caleb was born, I've thought about a million different times, "I had no idea how easy I had it. Two kids was a piece of cake!" But, not on Saturday. Ethan had to work (internship), so it was just me. Anna and Ben both wanted to do different things, there were tons of people there, the kiddos were both a little impatient, and Benjamin almost pulled a fire alarm. A FIRE ALARM. That would have been awful. *understatement* He really just didn't know what it was. Still, I told Benjamin Bear if he pulled one, it might sting him, the noisy fire trucks would come, and they would probably put him in jail.
Yep, I lied.
But, it worked.
Anyway, the kids did have fun. But, because of the reasons mentioned above, we didn't stay as long as planned. Their favorites were the Karate training kids could try out, and a big parachute thing kids and parents played with together, as seen above.
DRESS UP. My kiddos love to dress up. And I love when my kiddos dress up. And, sometimes, I love to dress up with my kiddos. Most of our dress-up box has come from rummage sales, past Halloween costumes, older cousin hand me downs, my old costumes, Christmas/birthday presents, or dollar section finds at Target. (I LOVE Target's dollar section.)
So, I love how creative and hilarious Anna and Ben-Ben can be, especially when they're dressing up. Their little make-believe world becomes even more detailed and intricate when costumes and props are involved. It makes me smile. Above, Anna says she is dressed like a secret agent...she's been BIG into secret agents and spies lately. *Hat courtesy of Grampa Chuck, glasses courtesy of me - they're fake, and fancy shoes courtesy of a past birthday present.* Benjamin's costume is pretty self explanatory. He's really drawn to "girl" costumes, and I'm pretty sure it's because he looks up to his big sister so much. Well, I hope that's the reason. hehe.
The final picture above is Caleb, lounging on the couch with his Grampa Dew. I didn't want the babers to feel left out of this post. And, I wanted to show his most FAVORITE hang out spot. Seriously, he loves hanging out on the couch. I think it makes him feel grown up, and just one of the fam, instead of "the baby." I could be wrong.
DAIRY. Jilbert's Dairy, that is. In my last post, I mentioned Good Behavior Charts. That is the first one Benjamin filled up. And that is him at Jilbert's Dairy enjoying his chosen reward. Besides the ice cream, which both kids of course devoured, the Viewing Area was also a big hit. There are large windows so you can observe the "assembly line" for the different types of milk. I had to pull them away after about 10 minutes, but they were in AWE. It made me feel good, because: Giving my kids ice cream...not the healthiest thing (although it was the junior $1 size). BUT, giving my kids an educational experience that they still talk about...very good thing. *Anna filled her chart, and chose to have a spa party with me. I'll post about that later.*
1 comment:
I so enjoy reading your blog Angela. Your Children are Just adoreBLE!
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