This week Steven had FSY at Saginaw University. He left on Monday and came back Saturday. I think he had a good time, it's hard to know with him. We asked him about various things when he came back and we got answers that were lacking in details. He said he couldn't remember what any of the classes were about but when pressed, there was one about being happy. He said the activities were all weird. There was one (the only one he told us about) where he had to pretend he was blind. His roommate was named Michael and apparently fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He made friends with a kid that they nicknamed "Tree" because he was tall and wore a green sweatshirt. And one of their advisors swallowed a fish whole- that seemed to be the highlight of it all for Steven.
Sunday and Monday I had a lot of Braxton Hicks and it made for some uncomfortable days. I managed to clean the house Monday in the midst of them but was pretty much a blob outside of that. In the past couple of weeks I have read a lot of books due to my blobness "Lady Jane" "The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley" "The Road to Dalton" and "A Court of Throne and Roses". Not all good ones but they help to pass time.
Tuesday in attempt to re-enter the real world I took the younger 3 on an adventure to Lansing. Our first stop was Preuss Pets- a really cool pet store. They had lots of animals- ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, lizards, monitor, snakes, poison dart frogs, turtles, sting rays, puffer fish, fish that seemed to follow us, all kinds of birds big and small, koi fish...so many fun animals to see. The kids really enjoyed it, although the room with the big birds was super loud and Penny did not want to stay in it too long.
Our second stop was at the Michigan History Center. It took us a bit to find the parking lot and then we got behind someone who couldn't figure out how to buy the ticket so he could get inside the lot. I ended up getting out of the car and helping him. Basically I helped him by pressing the "help" button. Turned out there was a button that needed to be pressed once you put your credit card in, that the machine didn't really indicate to press. That helped me out so I had no problem getting in the parking lot when it was my turn. The museum itself was bigger than I expected and the kids really enjoyed it. I think I have been too many museums about Michigan so I was a wee bit bored but at least the kids had fun.
After those 2 stops, we decided to head home. Somehow we got lucky and didn't really hit any traffic on the way home. It turned out to be a really good adventure overall.
Thursday I had a dr's appointment. For some reason they messed up scheduling and I ended up having to see a different midwife at a different office. I ended up waiting an hour to see the midwife and that was not pleasant- the office was stuffy. Then the midwife wanted to go over my birthing history which felt redundant. But she did tell me I could have a midwife at my c-section which I think would be quite nice. I need all the support I can get with the anxiety I have about the surgery.
Thursday evening we celebrated Grace's birthday with a paint party. I brought my paint stuff to her house and her and Caroline did some pour painting- I just helped and watched. I felt so hot and blah that day that I really was happy to just help and not do any myself. We were all kind of quiet at first but eventually got chatty about things.
Meanwhile Thursday evening, Tara and her 2 girls surprised Tyler. She isn't able to come to his 40th birthday party because she has travel plans then but she came up early to surprise him and spend some time with him which was nice of her. She is staying with Mariah though, I think she's more comfortable there.
Friday Tyler took a half day off work and we went with Mariah and Tara's family to Frankenmuth. Since they hadn't had lunch our first stop was Zehnder's. I've always been told that it's a must but it's expensive so we had never been there before but we decided to splurge. It was definitely a splurge but it was a fun experience and I think his family really enjoyed it. The servers are all dressed up and everything is very German themed. The chicken was really good and they give you a 3 course meal. There was also a giant chicken making rounds that Wesley was very scared of.
After we ate, we walked over to the shops via the covered bridge and of course, I had to get some cherry chocolate covered pretzels from Cherry Republic. Too bad they melted in the car :/ Lucy spent her own money that she had just earned helping Sharon with some yard work on some cherry candy. The kids also really enjoyed walking through a store with lots of things for a Fairy Garden. It really had some cool stuff in it, much better than the Dollar Tree stuff we buy.
Our last stop was Bronner's. Everyone really enjoyed the Halloween and Christmas villages there. Penny had cleaned the car for me that morning and spent her freshly earned money on yet another Beanie Boo. I've got to work on gettting them to save their money instead of spending it as soon as they get it.
Saturday afternoon (because I think mornings are hard when you're suffereing from time difference...) we drove to Port Huron to see the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse. Thanks to the wildfires in Canada, everything was hazy from the smoke. Some of our crew went to the top of the lighthouse but I chose not to because I was just there recently. Mariah ended up staying behind too so we hung out with the kids who didn't go up.
After the lighthouse we went to Lakeport State Beach. The kids always surprise me with how well they tolerate cold water- it was frigid! I mostly just sat and listened to Mariah and Tara chat- sometimes I chimed in but mostly I feel like an outsider with them. After the beach it was late so we headed our separate ways. I really am grateful for Mariah hosting because by the end of our adventures I am pooped and need some quiet time.
No comments:
Post a Comment