Zoo

Monday was St.Patrick's day. The only St.Patrick's thing we did was wear green and eat Lucky Charms. It's not one of my favorite holidays. That morning we skipped homeschool because we were watching Mariah's oldest 3 kids. We watched them so her and Jeff could figure out what residencies he should apply to. (Spoiler alert- he has ended up taking a family medicine residency in West Virginia) Watching their kids went really smoothly. They played with Legos for a long time and then watched an ambulance, fire truck and police car that came to Christy's house across from us (apparently she thought she smelt a fire but thankfully everything was ok). We did lunch, colored and then watched a little bit of "Frozen". It helps when my full focus is on just entertaining them all and I don't have other tasks to accomplish.

That afternoon Ruby refused to fall asleep for her nap. She spent the whole time- just about 2 hours- playing in her crib so I let her be since she wasn't crying. I tried to sneak a picture of her playing when I finally came in to get her but she caught me. I don't know why she didn't sleep- Mimi and Claire were over so maybe she thought everyone was having fun without her? Or maybe daylight savings or maybe sleep regression or maybe...?

Here are Ruby and me decked out in our green outfits....

Tuesday at nap time Ruby played in her crib again. This time she played for almost an hour and a half and then fell asleep for a half hour. When I came in to get her, this is how her room looked... She was apparently messing with her pictures.

Tuesday evening Ben had his driving class and driving lesson so I just dropped him off. He did much better driving this time and the instructor's only complaint was that he needed to slow down at train tracks and listen for trains. That night I went to Grace's house. We had lots of good conversations- about faith, trials, and even trivial things like what I could do with the extra space in the boys room. She helped me finally make some decisions for their room.

Wednesday while the girls were at school, I took Ruby to the Detroit Zoo. Not my favorite zoo but with just the two of us it was a pretty good time. I brought her car stroller so she was happy to be in it and also it was easy to get her in and out of it but it also created jealousy. There was one little boy who ran up to us and followed us for quite a bit before his Grandpa pulled him away. He really wanted a ride in it. Since I didn't have any other kids to complain about walking too much we managed to see most of the zoo. She spent a long while by the camels eating her sandwich but I think that she was more fascinated by the geese that were in the pen with the camels. The snakes were less exciting because they were all well camouflaged. She seemed to be fascinated by the monkeys, gorillas and giraffes. She loved the random peacocks and ducks that crossed her path. After we saw all the animals we played a the playground and then headed out to pick up the girls. Ruby got a little car nap on our way there.

Wednesday night Ruby, Penny and I hung out in Novi during Ben's class. We stopped by at a couple stores and then went to the mall and played in the play area. I think we are all bored of the mall. I am so gratefull there is only one more week of driving classes.

Thursday morning Ruby decided to hop in the shower before I got her undressed. She is such a booger. For her nap she played for a half an hour and slept for the rest. This was her pattern for the rest of the week- even when I tried putting her down later to see if that would help. She just really likes to play in her crib. I wonder if I need to take the dolls out.

Thursday while Ben was at drivers school I got some time to myself. I strolled a couple stores and enjoyed the quiet time. After driving school we had to meet Steven, Tyler and Ruby at the boys' archery banquet. We were about an hour late. We missed the eating part but came just in time for the awards. The boys both won academic archer awards and Steven got the best scores in 3D and Bullseye for 11th grade boys....because he was the only boy in 11th grade on the team. He still does well for himself. Tyler got recognized for being a super funny and dedicated coach (as did all the other volunteer coaches). They gave him a $30 giftcard to Krogers. A bit random but we will take it.

Friday Tyler and I had a super exciting date to Costco where we spent a lot of money on really boring stuff like water bottles and chicken nuggets. That night the kids and I watched "Superman Returns". Apparently the dvd was all scratched up because it kept pausing and made a really long movie, even longer. Ben got super frustrated but insisted we keep watching it.

Saturday morning Ruby, Penny and I went to Lizzie's baptism. I have knowm that girl her whole life which is honestly a bit crazy to think about. She was super bouncy and happy and everything went real nice. Ruby was pretty squirmy but made lots of friends with the older people around her. She loved giving them her books and having them read with her. Penny got a bloody nose which was a bummer because she was wearing a white dress. Only a few spots got on it though. I think I made a poor choice in wearing a bright red sweater though because in the pics Caroline took I stuck out like a sore thumb;)

While we were at the baptism, Ben had a drive with an instructor and continues to improve. I am happy to see him feeling more confident. That evening I watched the "The Hundred Foot Journey" which was a little slow for the kids but it's a good one. This seems to be a pretty consistent theme, kids are just used to more faster paced movies than the movies and shows we grew up on. 

Also I have gotten back into puzzling and am enjoying having that back in my life. I finished this fun Lego Succulent puzzle. It was tricky so it took a long while to finish.