Sunday, December 27, 2015
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Good Intentions
So the excitement in my house has been building and building. Christmas and grandparents and uncles coming and sugar and no school and more sugar! Oh! It was reaching a breaking point! So I decided that in the interest of self-preservation for all parties involved I should get the kids out of the house on Tuesday.
Since we have a family membership to the children's museum I decided that was where we would go. I knew it would be crowded, but I figured it wouldn't be that bad.
I was wrong.
It was SOOO crowded. Ridiculously crowded.
So we thought we'd go check out a planetarium show and then hit a few of our favorite exhibits. But the planetarium is under construction! So sad! And our favorite exhibits were so FULL!
We spent a bit of time in the Egyptian tomb, though, and that was pretty cool.
And then we hit the Jolly Days winter area and caught some fish, played some chess, and played in the ice castle.
But it was just SO crowded! Tess and Cole did not do well in the crowds. They had been fine at Disney, but I think that's because it was outside in good weather. This was inside and they did not like it. So we decided to skip the exhibits and go wait in line for the Yuletide Slide. It was a long line but we were waiting probably less than 20 minutes, so it wasn't that bad.
And we had applesauce packs, so life was good.
But we were also forced to listen to the cheesy holiday singing show going on below. Oy.
Tess and I went down the slide hand in hand because she was a little nervous. Spencer went by himself and was so fast I didn't get a picture! And Josh and Cole raced.
Despite the video and photo finish, Josh still claims he won. Sometimes that boy ain't right.
It was so crowded at the museum that we decided to just eat our packed lunch in the car. None of us wanted to deal with getting a table in that packed lunch area! So we ate our lunch and headed off to Costco because I had some returns and a few things to pick up.
The kids were very good and, apparently, very hungry when we were done so we had to splurge on frozen yogurt, churros, and soda. They declared this the best part of the day. I couldn't blame them - that frozen yogurt is pretty tasty.
With full tummies and happy hearts we headed back to the car. And then I looked in the passenger window and my heart dropped. DANG IT.
At first they couldn't believe it. Spencer rolled his eyes, as if he couldn't believe his rotten luck in getting such an airhead for a mother. (In my defense, this is only the 2nd time in 22 years of driving that this has happened to me.) Josh couldn't believe his tablet was stuck in there and he couldn't get it right then. And such a thing had never occurred to Cole or Tess. They kind of freaked out. Cole claimed he didn't want another car - he wanted ours! He thought we'd have to get a new one! And Tess moped and cried and generally acted 4 years old.
So I gave a prayer of thanks for smart phones, because I knew life in this situation would be much, much harder. I called Lance, just on the very off chance he could come get us. No dice. So I looked up some auto locksmiths, called one, and we were good to go within 30 minutes. Seriously, no time at all.
While we waited for the locksmith to get there I regaled my children with stories about uncle Kevin getting locked in the car as a baby and getting locked in the Hotel Utah bathroom as a toddler. Kevin got locked in a lot of places as a kid. They were sufficiently entertained, especially with the idea of toddler Kevin flushing the toilet over and over again and unrolling all of the toilet paper!
It wasn't our best excursion ever, but certainly one of the most memorable!
Since we have a family membership to the children's museum I decided that was where we would go. I knew it would be crowded, but I figured it wouldn't be that bad.
I was wrong.
It was SOOO crowded. Ridiculously crowded.
So we thought we'd go check out a planetarium show and then hit a few of our favorite exhibits. But the planetarium is under construction! So sad! And our favorite exhibits were so FULL!
We spent a bit of time in the Egyptian tomb, though, and that was pretty cool.
And then we hit the Jolly Days winter area and caught some fish, played some chess, and played in the ice castle.
But it was just SO crowded! Tess and Cole did not do well in the crowds. They had been fine at Disney, but I think that's because it was outside in good weather. This was inside and they did not like it. So we decided to skip the exhibits and go wait in line for the Yuletide Slide. It was a long line but we were waiting probably less than 20 minutes, so it wasn't that bad.
And we had applesauce packs, so life was good.
But we were also forced to listen to the cheesy holiday singing show going on below. Oy.
Tess and I went down the slide hand in hand because she was a little nervous. Spencer went by himself and was so fast I didn't get a picture! And Josh and Cole raced.
Despite the video and photo finish, Josh still claims he won. Sometimes that boy ain't right.
It was so crowded at the museum that we decided to just eat our packed lunch in the car. None of us wanted to deal with getting a table in that packed lunch area! So we ate our lunch and headed off to Costco because I had some returns and a few things to pick up.
The kids were very good and, apparently, very hungry when we were done so we had to splurge on frozen yogurt, churros, and soda. They declared this the best part of the day. I couldn't blame them - that frozen yogurt is pretty tasty.
With full tummies and happy hearts we headed back to the car. And then I looked in the passenger window and my heart dropped. DANG IT.
At first they couldn't believe it. Spencer rolled his eyes, as if he couldn't believe his rotten luck in getting such an airhead for a mother. (In my defense, this is only the 2nd time in 22 years of driving that this has happened to me.) Josh couldn't believe his tablet was stuck in there and he couldn't get it right then. And such a thing had never occurred to Cole or Tess. They kind of freaked out. Cole claimed he didn't want another car - he wanted ours! He thought we'd have to get a new one! And Tess moped and cried and generally acted 4 years old.
So I gave a prayer of thanks for smart phones, because I knew life in this situation would be much, much harder. I called Lance, just on the very off chance he could come get us. No dice. So I looked up some auto locksmiths, called one, and we were good to go within 30 minutes. Seriously, no time at all.
While we waited for the locksmith to get there I regaled my children with stories about uncle Kevin getting locked in the car as a baby and getting locked in the Hotel Utah bathroom as a toddler. Kevin got locked in a lot of places as a kid. They were sufficiently entertained, especially with the idea of toddler Kevin flushing the toilet over and over again and unrolling all of the toilet paper!
It wasn't our best excursion ever, but certainly one of the most memorable!
Tess Dress
"Just ONE smile, Tess."
"No."
"For grandpas and grandmas?"
"No."
"For Daddy?"
"No."
"For me?"
"NO."
"For Santa Claus?"
"Cheese!"
Priorities. She has them.
"No."
"For grandpas and grandmas?"
"No."
"For Daddy?"
"No."
"For me?"
"NO."
"For Santa Claus?"
"Cheese!"
Priorities. She has them.
LAN Birthday
Spencer wanted a LAN party for his birthday this year. Since we have limited computers (I know), his guest numbers were also limited. Which actually made for a pretty easy party! I made a Steam birthday cake for the event. (My cake decorating skillz - they are limited.)
It was quite the spread. We also added ice cream, soda, and pizza to the mix. No one left this party hungry. Or healthy.
I never got a picture of all the kiddos. Dang. But here's a random one of Tanner.
And here's one of Baylee and Spencer. (I have no idea why Baylee is making that face.) I never got one of Clayton.
We also served sour gummy candy and my world famous M&M trail mix. Yes, that is a bucket-o-M&Ms.
It was quite the spread. We also added ice cream, soda, and pizza to the mix. No one left this party hungry. Or healthy.
I never got a picture of all the kiddos. Dang. But here's a random one of Tanner.
And here's one of Baylee and Spencer. (I have no idea why Baylee is making that face.) I never got one of Clayton.
Cole and Josh and Justin joined in on the fun. There were limited legit (read: adult) LANners that night just because it's December and there's so much going on. But I think a grand time was had by all!
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Festival of Trees
December 11th was Indiana's 199th birthday, which meant that the Indiana Historical Society was free, which meant that Tess and I were going because I love museums and I love free even more. Plus, they have the festival of trees every year and I've always wanted to go.
We started the trip with a short stop at Costco for lunch and shopping. Because we love Costco. Tess was excited to eat under one of the umbrellas. And let's talk hot dogs for a minute: Costco hot dogs are SO MUCH BETTER than Sam's Club hot dogs. I mean, the ones at Sam's are alright. And they make for a cheap lunch. But Costco's are SO YUMMY. So there you go.
I thought the festival of trees would just be a big room full of different trees, but all 50 of them were sprinkled throughout the building. I would've liked to have looked at all of the museum stuff as well, but Tess wasn't interested, and I wasn't interested in her causing a scene because she was bored. So we looked at each of the trees and I got to see a little bit of the exhibits, but not as much as I would have liked. I'll have to go back some time, because it all looked really interesting!
Here's the "Back Home Again in Indiana" tree. It was my favorite - so pretty!
A nice lady offered to take a picture of us in front of the "A Christmas Story" living room recreation. Lovely, Tess.
Hippo in a wig ornament? Yes, please.
And hamburger ornament? Check.
I liked the pasta hanging from this tree. It was sponsored by some Italian restaurant. I liked the red spatulas, too!
This plaque was on the floor of the ballroom. Yep, Hoosiers.
The France tree - the little Eiffel towers were especially pretty.
The fancy L.S. Ayres tree. (Ayres was a fancy department store in Indy back in the day.)
And of course there was a Star Wars tree!
I need need need a Death Star tree topper!
Lego sets under the tree...
...figures all throughout for the ornaments.
A clever book tree. (I thought of all the librarians in my life when I saw this!)
I really liked the top of this Grinch tree.
So there's this ballroom and the ceiling goes up 4 stories and it was just really really pretty.
There was a small display on the origins of the word "Hoosier".
I really liked the colors on this Clabber Girl tree.
The upside down tree was fun, although it kinda freaked Tess out - she was sure it was gonna fall on her!
Of course there was a Speedway tree!
And I thought the sign for this prohibition tree was clever: "It used to be illegal to be "too" merry."
We finished looking at all of the trees and decided to go for a little walk along the canal. It was such a pleasant day - we didn't even need coats!
I wanted to take a nice picture with Tess, but of course she had other plans.
It was a really fun way to spend some time with my best girl!
We started the trip with a short stop at Costco for lunch and shopping. Because we love Costco. Tess was excited to eat under one of the umbrellas. And let's talk hot dogs for a minute: Costco hot dogs are SO MUCH BETTER than Sam's Club hot dogs. I mean, the ones at Sam's are alright. And they make for a cheap lunch. But Costco's are SO YUMMY. So there you go.
I thought the festival of trees would just be a big room full of different trees, but all 50 of them were sprinkled throughout the building. I would've liked to have looked at all of the museum stuff as well, but Tess wasn't interested, and I wasn't interested in her causing a scene because she was bored. So we looked at each of the trees and I got to see a little bit of the exhibits, but not as much as I would have liked. I'll have to go back some time, because it all looked really interesting!
Here's the "Back Home Again in Indiana" tree. It was my favorite - so pretty!
A nice lady offered to take a picture of us in front of the "A Christmas Story" living room recreation. Lovely, Tess.
Hippo in a wig ornament? Yes, please.
And hamburger ornament? Check.
I liked the pasta hanging from this tree. It was sponsored by some Italian restaurant. I liked the red spatulas, too!
This plaque was on the floor of the ballroom. Yep, Hoosiers.
The France tree - the little Eiffel towers were especially pretty.
The fancy L.S. Ayres tree. (Ayres was a fancy department store in Indy back in the day.)
And of course there was a Star Wars tree!
I need need need a Death Star tree topper!
Lego sets under the tree...
...figures all throughout for the ornaments.
A clever book tree. (I thought of all the librarians in my life when I saw this!)
I really liked the top of this Grinch tree.
So there's this ballroom and the ceiling goes up 4 stories and it was just really really pretty.
There was a small display on the origins of the word "Hoosier".
I really liked the colors on this Clabber Girl tree.
Of course there was a Speedway tree!
And I thought the sign for this prohibition tree was clever: "It used to be illegal to be "too" merry."
We finished looking at all of the trees and decided to go for a little walk along the canal. It was such a pleasant day - we didn't even need coats!
I wanted to take a nice picture with Tess, but of course she had other plans.
It was a really fun way to spend some time with my best girl!
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