Memorial Day Weekend

We had a fairly "normal" week last week.  Elam kept us laughing with his usual antics...

Alora and Ezri offered us a moment to enjoy as Alora became Ezri's comforter and helper after an injury on the trampoline.  She actually carried Ezri into the house, got her an ice pack and Barky and sat holding her until Ezri felt better.  It was so sweet!

The girls found a baby snapping turtle in the middle of our neighbor's yard and it was quite the excitement for a bit as they held and checked it all out.

Then we decided it would be best to bring the little turtle to the creek at the park where he might be happier and safer.

Elam has been switching up nap time, trying to go from two to one.  Its the awkward phase where he's so tired all the time because he fights naps and needs more but won't participate.  So, one afternoon it caught up with him.

Ezri and Alora are on the home stretch for school.  With less than 2 weeks left it was final project time.  For Science, Ezri had to choose a project related to animals as she had studied Zoology .  She decided it would be fun to make a maze for Barb and try to train him to reach the end using treats, tracking how fast he did it each day.  She designed the maze on her own and then I helped her tape boxes together to make it come alive.  

 She was so excited to start using it with Barb!

We are still in the data gathering stage, but already Ezri is learning that Barb is not a willing participant and so she is also training Sadie who is much more eager to get the treats.

For Memorial Weekend, we opted to do several small trips instead of one big camping trip. We kicked off our weekend with dinner and an evening at Sandy Pines with our friends.  There was a Gaga Ball pit that had everyone's attention for quite some time.

We also staged a treasure hunt for the kids, burying coins in the sand and then using a metal detector to find them.  It was a big hit!

And everyone was a dirty mess at the end!  Then it was back to play more Gaga Ball.

After a bonfire and a late night, we woke the next morning and headed out for adventure!  We went to Saugatuck and started our day with a dune ride.

 Elam was not a fan of the wind blowing in his face, but enjoyed the ride snuggled with Mommy.  After a bit, the driver stopped on a hill and we were able to get out and explore a little.

Then it was back into the truck for more ride and fun.  We had a great driver and learned all sorts of interesting things on our drive.

After our dune ride, which everyone enjoyed, we thought we would brave Mt. Baldhead.  

What a task!  But we all survived the climb and the descent.  Check that off the list!

Since we were in Saugatuck, we decided to look around a little.  We stopped by the museum where the kids enjoyed listening to some movies via phone.

Elam, meanwhile, enjoyed the ability to run amok and just be out of containment for a while.

We wanted to ride the ferry, but found out we were too late for the afternoon ride and didn't want to wait until the later time, so instead we opted to ride on the chain ferry and see a little more of Saugatuck.  So, off we went to see what the chain ferry was all about.

On board, the kids were offered the opportunity to try turning the crank that moved the boat across the channel.

We took a ride across, got ice cream and then took another ride back.  By then, everyone was tired.  We were blessed with a breezy, sunny day with comfortable temperatures in the 70's by the lake, which made for a fantastic day for that adventure.  With a van full of tired people and a our friends following along, we made our way back to Sandy Pines for dinner together and some relaxation.

We decided on Saturday night that a scavenger hunt through Sandy Pines would be fun, and it was!  We split into teams of boys vs. girls (Elam stuck with Mommy) and went around trying to get pictures and videos of silly tasks.  We sure had fun!

The girls won the contest, but we all won in that we had a great time laughing as we compared photos and videos and enjoyed what each team had come up with.  After we tucked the kids in for a movie and bed, the adults (and Mr. No Sleep Elam) enjoyed a bonfire together.

Sunday morning we adventured out again.  This time we headed Southeast to the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners.  Unfortunately, our family didn't enjoy this as much as we had hoped given how many good things we had heard about the place.  While the location and size surprised us and was quite beautiful with many old restored barns, the staff that greeted us as we walked in clouded the experience.  We felt the lady was rude toward the children and our group.  She talked down to the kids and basically told them in several ways they could not touch anything or they would have to leave.  Clearly the museum is not a kid friendly place, which is sad.  But sadder still was the fact that the kids started out the morning being told no in several ways before they even set foot into the door.  Daddy and I were not impressed, needless to say, that it was assumed our kids would touch everything and that we would not be supervising them.  Not a place we plan to return to.

Still, while we were there, we tried to make the best of it.  Elam was just not impressed with the stroller.

And Tierney had issue with all of the boring cars, 

and the smell!

Ezri and Alora did better.  They did their best to find cool cars along the way and did great at not touching anything.

By the end, Ezri was declaring that it was so hard to not touch anything and she just wanted something she could touch!  The girls were able to find a racing game they could play

we let them jump up and down to their heart's content on the hose that rang the bell at the gas station,

and there was one car, an old fire truck, they were actually allowed to get in, touch and mess with. 

Beyond that, they did a super job of keeping good attitudes and hanging in there while the big boys looked at the cars.

At least outside offered them opportunity to be kids a little.

With the car museum behind us, we headed for lunch and found a gem in Richland with amazing food, and that helped wash away the rough spots of the morning.  From there, we headed to Kalamazoo Valley Museum.  What an amazing place!  With free admission, we were already excited, but it just kept getting better. For $3 we took in a show in the planetarium  The kids were all amazed at the room and the movie on the ceiling.  

Then we explored for a few hours.  Elam was about done by then, so we had to get creative to keep him happy.  Daddy put him in a sand bin that was designed to show elevation changes.  Thankfully everything there was hands on, because Elam was all in for that (whether he was actually supposed to be in it or not)

He also enjoyed playing the banjo.

But it was a downhill battle with him from there.  He was just so tired from the long weekend and low sleep.  At one point he just laid on the floor, scooted around on his back and cried.

The rest of the kids (and adults) continued to enjoy all of the things to do and see, however. The TV studio was a huge hit.

As was the diner.

We wrapped it up about 4:30 and decided to head back to Sandy Pines for dinner and some down time.

Monday started out slow for us.  The kids slept in and Mommy got caught up on a little house work that had been neglected all weekend.  Then, we headed back to Sandy Pines to hang out with our friends and be lazy together.  In the afternoon, we decided to brave the lake.  It was so hot all weekend, with temperatures in the mid 90's, and Monday was no different.  So, we suited up and took a golf cart ride out to the beach.

 It was worth it!  We were surprised at how comfortable the water actually was.  No need to slowly get used to it by going numb.  Elam was all about the water, no hesitation either.

 Elam eventually fell asleep being held in the lake.  So, while we enjoyed the water and being cool, he napped.  When he woke, he spent sometime digging in the sand with his sister.

All of the kids had a great time making sand castles and playing on the beach.

 We wrapped up our day with dinner and ice cream before admitting it was time to get back to reality as kids had school and adults had work the next day. 

But not before Elam got dirty one more time.

 And then got hosed down.

What a great weekend!  We had such a great time exploring new places and doing new things with our dear friends and family.  The kids have been talking about all of the things we did and hoping for returns to some of the things.  We all relaxed and rested even with all of the activity, it was a much needed time out and away for Daddy and I.  

And now back to regular life...