Monday my friend spent the day with us because she was getting her floors redone. This friend kind of drives me a bit crazy and she has a baby boy so that I still have a hard time with. I especially struggle with seeing my kids interact with the baby. I wish so much that my kids could have a little baby sibling coming their way in October. Besides that it was alright. She only drove me crazy with her germaphobia and getting upset when my kids let him touch toys that hadn't been washed.
Tuesday my friend was supposed to come over again but she ended up staying at another friend's house and that was ok for me. Instead I ran some errands That night Tyler and I went out on a date to Chipotle. We got there and found out we could only order online so we went outside and ordered and then came back in to pick it up. Covid rules are so dumb. We ate the food outside and just had a really nice time talking and spending time together without kids.
Wednesday we went to the Toledo Zoo. The weather in Michigan was crazy rainy that day but thankfully the weather seemed to skip over Ohio. Unfortunately it was wicked humid and hot and we had a pretty rough start. I thought it would be fun to feed the giraffes but that meant waiting for 15 minutes in the sun and apparently that was just too much to ask of the kids. We should've just skipped the feeding and moved on but honestly I wanted to do it. So the kid drove me crazy for 15 long minutes and then when it came time to feed the giraffe- it went so fast! The giraffe slurped up those leaves so quickly but it was neat to see them up close and personal and see how they eat.
After the miserable wait there was more whining about the heat as we walked and their attitude didn't really change until they discovered the aviary was open for the first time since we've been going there. They were so excited to go see some new things that they totally forgot they were cranky. The aviary was pretty cool with the vulture hanging out by the window, the room full of parakeets, and a sloth that we watched slowly go get its food.
Next we saw some monkeys, went to the aquarium, played at the play area and then decided we were all hungry so it was time to leave.
Thursday morning I thought it would be fun to take Ben out kayaking again because we had had such a good time the first time. It was not nearly as fun this time around. He was very sensitive and got upset whenever he had paddling or steering problems and he just didn't handle problems very well. Also when I was loading the kayaks, he got right by a kayak as I was putting it in the car and accidentally got whacked in the face by it. It was not the relaxing morning that I had hoped for.
The rest of the day pretty much went as well as the morning. The kids were fighting, whining, and making me crazy. I attempted to go over what we would be doing for homeschool and they were super uncooperative about it. Lucy complained that she didn't want to sit and listen and Ben started crying because he didn't understand what one of his tasks will be.
Later that day the girls and I went to get haircuts from my friend and I remembered her being expensive but didn't properly remember just how expensive. The girls just got trims and I cut off 5 inches and she did a good job but it was just more money than I had planned on spending ($80 total). Afterwards we picked up snacks for our road trip the next day and the girls fought over bagging the groceries, screamed at each other and then Penny started crying loudly. Seriously it was such a miserable day that I would rather not repeat. It has given me some serious doubts about homeschooling and I am real weary for the year ahead.
But in the midst of the miserableness I did get a picture of my haircut with these crazy kids of mine.
Friday we took Grams to Kentucky to see the Ark Encounter. I had mentioned one of my yw had gone there and that we should go, sort of joking because I didn't think she'd be interested...but she was. So Tyler took off work Friday and we made an adventure of it.
After the crummy day before I did not feel my kids deserved devices for the drive so they got none for the 5 hour drive there. Instead we listened to some weird kid zombie story and my road trip mix on Spotify. It was actually a relatively smooth drive...except when I squirted ketchup all over myself when we were eating Chick-Fil-A at a park. That was unfortunate. I ended up changing into the shirt I had planned to wear the next day and wearing my jammie shirt the next day instead. The one time I didn't over pack and this happens.
At the Ark Encounter you take a bus from the entrance down to the ark and other attractions. We decided to go see inside the ark first because that was the whole reason we were there. It was really neat to see and read their ideas on how the ark could've been built, how many animals it could have housed, how 8 people took care of so many animals, etc. An interesting note is that they believe that dinosaurs were on the ark too...I mean, maybe? Overall I really enjoyed exploring inside it and reading all the things. The kids enjoyed it the first floor and probably the second too but by the third their focus was fading and they started getting rowdy, and bugging each other. We didn't read nearly as many signs/plaques on that last floor before heading out of the ark.
The cages
Food source for reptiles
Kitchen
After exploring the ark we went to the zoo. There weren't a ton of animals and we could see a storm blowing in so we didn't stay too long. The kids did like petting the goats and Penny was very excited by the horses and cow.
With our tickets we had gotten vouchers for a free meal so seeing the rain coming, we decided it would be a good time to go inside and eat. It was buffet style and tasted pretty good. When the rain died down we headed towards the bus but then the rain started coming down again. We were pretty soaked by the time we got to the bus. Thankfully the rain stopped by the time we got to the parking lot so we were able to walk to our car without getting further drenched.
As we drove to the hotel we saw a rainbow. Can you spot it? I thought it was such an appropriate way to end our day at the ark.
Saturday we left the hotel and made a stop on the Donut Trail in Ohio. Yes there is a thing called a Donut Trail. There are 13 doughnut shops that make up this trail but we just hit the one that was the least out of our way. They are not the best doughnuts I have had but they were pretty good. Lucy and Ben got ones with Lucky Charms and I had one with Crushed Oreos. Tyler got one with bacon on top and Grams got an Apple Fritter. Penny got Vanilla Sprinkles and Steven got glazed. Tyler and I have decided that sometime we need to leave to kids behind and hit up all the shops on the Donut Trail so we can figure out which one has the best doughnuts. Plus if you have each shop put a stamp in your "passport" you get a t-shirt.
After our doughnuts we made another stop at Caesar Creek State Park. They have a spillway that contains TONS of fossil rocks. They allow you to take as many as you want, as long as they fit in the palm of your hand. We all had a lot of fun exploring and checking out all the different fossil rocks and picking some to keep. It was also overcast so the weather was perfect for doing rock hunting. I would definitely recommend this place for a free and fun family adventure.
When we finished rock hunting, it was time to head home. We passed the drive with a book called Guinea Dog and more music. I was mean and didn't let them have devices again. The drive home seemed long- I feel like we had to make more bathroom stops- but we survived. Shortly after we got home, we went to a BBQ at my friend Melissa's house. I was not feeling super social so we didn't stay long but it was super nice to not have to worry about dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment