Arkansas

We headed to Arkansas to see Jon's parents for the week of the 4th. I was dreading the ride out there. Was really wishing for magical powers to just transport us. =) 

But it went really well. The miles went by quickly and the kids were great.

Playing in the woods with Grammy.

Jon and Gramps rode their bikes up Queen Wilhelmina mountain while the rest of us drove up there.

The kids and Grammy rode the little train. Dominic wasn't very impressed.

Later we ate home made ice cream.

One day we went to Hot Springs. We ate out and took the kids to the Science Museum.

Enjoying time with the grandparents.

We also went out on the boat. But I was too scared to bring the camera. 

This was probably the kids favorite things. They certainly love the water.

And it didn't hurt that Gramps let them drive the boat. Dominic did a great job.

Caitlin got us all a bit sick. =)

Caitlin with her Gramps while he sang special music at church. 

 

The weather was beautiful and completely not normal for Arkansas in July. 

We had such a wonderful visit and it was completely worth the long drive.

No School

Dominic had Thursday and Friday off for Fall Break. Yesterday we did the usual coffee girls thing. But today he requested the Children's Museum. So after lunch we headed over and spent the entire afternoon. I forgot my camera so unfortunately didn't get pictures. 

We had so much fun. We built castles, made meals, solved puzzles and did some crafts. There were dishes in my sink, tons of books to review, food to cook and the list goes on. But we took today and enjoyed the break and each other. I'm so thankful for my sweet, goofy, awesome children. They make me laugh and warm my heart. The dishes can be done later, the books can wait. But my kids are growing up so fast and I'm glad that I chose to spend a few hours today playing.

Last weekend

We went to Chattanooga this last weekend to spend some time with family.

It was my brother's birthday and we hadn't seen Jon's brother in a while either.

But I think the main reason Jon wanted to go was because the Great Race was starting in Chattanooga and he wanted to go and look at the cars before they started. =)

We returned and immediately became overwhelmingly busy so this post is a bit late.

We crammed a lot into our weekend. =)

Pictures from the great race.

Waiting for the race to start.

 Zeb got bored and had to see if he could climb the wall.

 It was very hot, even that early in the morning so we went over to a near by building for the kids to sit in the shade. They found the dirtiest place to play.

 Being the typical boy, Dominic licked his hands to get the dirt off. He didn't believe me when I told him what that action had done to his chin. So I took a picture to prove my point. He thought it was "cool".

 Caitlin was tired since she hadn't slept well the night before. Poor Jon ended up being peed on because she was too sleepy to let him know she had to go. Guess it was a good thing there was a breeze to dry them off quickly. =)

 

 This tiny car really fascinated the kids.

 I took a picture of Zeb beside the car to show how tiny it really is. 

It's kid size.

 He's inflated.

 

 Look Mom!

And he's down.

"Oh no! He's bwoken"

Notice all of the people standing in the back ground watching her. They were loving her expressions every time he inflated and deflated. She could have spent the whole day watching the Michelin man.

 Once the cars starting taking off it was hard to see them until they were right up on us because of the crowds of people. So Leila kept getting further and further out into the street. Dominic is a bit of a mother hen and would frantically pull her back in each time she leaned out.

We stayed with my brother the first night. He's a true bachelor. He doesn't have a kitchen table. The kids certainly didn't mind. I think they enjoyed the novelty of sitting on the floor to eat breakfast.

After the race we headed to the Children's Museum to spend some time. The kids love this place. In fact, Dominic never made it around the first corner. We spent the whole time coloring or playing in the water section. I wanted to rush him along and had to really remind myself that this was about him and if he was happy we would stay there all day.

 Drying his shirt after playing in the water.

 "Mom, take my picture."

 

 

The bubble ring outside.

We packed a ton into a very short time. So I'll post more of our weekend later.

Monday

Should I be scared? Dominic's "men".

The 1st man he made in Little Lambs to show the body and how it worked. It's the size of his body.

The 2nd man is a copy of the "muffin top" man he made at the museum last week. It came in three pieces, but I couldn't find the pants.

 

It rained on Monday and the temps were in the 50s. Too cold for me to play in the rain, but apparently not for the kids. They came in freezing and muddy, but they had so much fun.

Dominic was wearing a winter coat with his crocs and shorts.

Caitlin had on her pjs and sandals.

I threw them in the tub to warm them up.

Caitlin had to go potty after getting out of the tub. 

She said she was cold.

At the children's museum.

 

 

I was cleaning the kitchen after lunch. Caitlin was still working on her meal.

I heard her talking, but couldn't figure out what she was saying.

She had slid off of her chair and was quietly calling for help.

When I didn't come right away, I guess she decided to finish her lunch from there.

Muffin Tops

I took the kids to the children's museum yesterday and Dominic was at the art table.

He was drawing clothing. After he'd cut out the shirt he picked it up to show me.

"Look Mom. It even has a muffin top."

I started laughing. I couldn't help it. Does the kid even know what a muffin top is?

One of the museum staff came over to see why I was laughing so hard.

I told her what Dominic had said.

After I'd walked a little ways away (following Caitlin) I heard them talking.

Apparently she'd asked him how to get rid of muffin tops.

"With green tea."

He rarely watches tv anymore, but he has memorized several commercials. The one for a green tea that will help you lose your muffin top must be one of those.

He now knows what muffin tops are. =)

Music

Yesterday at the children's museum there was a guy with a bunch of different instruments. He allowed the kids to play any of them. Dominic had so much fun playing the drums and the violin.

Caitlin wasn't so sure and this is the only time she got remotely close to one. She was content to sit in my lap and watch everything.

Child Care

When I first joined the children's museum I began receiving emails about all of their extra activities. I received an email that first week about a Lunch Club. It was for Dominic's age. The kids would be dropped off at 11:30 and they would make their own lunch, eat it and then work on crafts until the parents returned at 1pm. It sounded fun and was super cheap so I signed him up. It was to be on Mondays for 6 weeks.

The unfortunate thing was the director (she's new) didn't take into account that school had already started 

and most kids would be in school. So there were only 2 kids signed up. I got the call this morning that it was canceled. Dominic had been anticipating this for weeks and was so disappointed. So the director told me 

that since we were in a hotel and she knew I didn't have family here that she would allow me to drop Dominic 

off at 10:30 and pick up after 1pm if I would pack his lunch for him. This was at no extra cost and for the 

entire 6 weeks.

So this morning we went to Messy Mondays (super messy craft time - tons of fun) and then Caitlin and I left. It is amazing how much I can get done with only one child. This comes at a perfect time, since we are moving in to our new home a week from Wednesday. 

I love small towns! =)

I was SO proud of Dominic. I went to pick him up and Alexandria (the director) told me that Dominic had been an angel. She said she'd never met a 4 yr old that was that well behaved. We stayed for a few minutes since Dominic was playing a game with another girl and didn't want to stop. And several times she commented on how my husband and I must be doing something right in our parenting because Dominic was so sweet and polite.

Made me so thankful and so proud of my little boy!!!

So sweet

Dominic was finishing his quiet time video and since Caitlin had woken up from her nap early I plopped her down beside him to watch.

This picture is proof that my kids actually love each other. =)

I told Dominic that we could go to the museum today. Never checked the schedule. We got there and Dominic held the door open for me. So I didn't see the closed sign on the front. 

The lady there was so nice. She somehow knew who I was (joys of small town living) and told me that we could play in the front since they were having a meeting in the back.

It was nice to have the museum to ourselves.

 

Caitlin loves playing with the marbles and will carry them everywhere with her.

Dominic was a cowboy prince.

And I was a princess.