First up on our priority list was a trip to the zoo so Evan could feed the giraffes. We'd already gone to the zoo several times this summer, including a zoo trip in Oregon, but we never got there right when it opened to get the ever-so-popular giraffe tickets. It was well worth rushing out of the house at the butt-crack of dawn and driving in rush-hour traffic.
I'm happy to report there were no tears by either boys and they were even licked! A successful zoo trip in the books for 2014.
Next up was to see as many family members and friends as possible. Which wasn't a problem when one of our August weekends included a bridal shower, a birthday party, and two baby showers. I'm exhausted just looking back at some of the pictures. But, I saw both sides of Scott's family and one of my best friends! So, I can't complain!
From a glitzy baby shower on the lake in Goodrich back to a Tiger's themed shower in Royal Oak, I was driving all over Michigan. Somehow I managed to sneak in a tiny piece of cake at each shower and not gain a pound! Bonus!
We took the kids up north for the County Fair with their cousins for two days during the week and then we rushed back home to rest up for our Great Wolf Lodge trip with my parents. And rest was exactly what we did. Evan spiked a fever for two days in between our two trips, but was miraculously healed in time for the GWL and his mystery virus never returned.
The latest and greatest at the GWL in Sandusky is that they now hand out these adorable wolf ears at check-in for the kids for free! So, we started our trip by running down the hall to our room wearing the ears and then, of course, they had to check out their log cabin.
The theme of this trip was slides, slides, and more slides. If it wasn't a slide, they weren't all that interested. So, we rode every.single.slide a million times with barely a wait and took a few breaks for snacks and snuggles. It was a great trip!
Whew!
We filled our last full week of summer vacation together with trips to the Ann Arbor Hands on Museum and the Henry Ford Museum/Greenfield Village. The weather was iffy, but we were able to get a train ride at GV and the kids were content.
Lastly, we tried so hard to pick a coordinating weekend all summer for my parents to come up to Scott's parents' new cottage. It wasn't easy, but the last weekend in August (not Labor Day weekend) we were able to make it work. Our third trip up north this summer, we were no strangers to packing and hitting the road. We made it up in time to enjoy the afternoon sun.
The men grilled some dinner and we finished off the evening with a boat ride to the park complete with ice cream.
Saturday we woke up to the start of a beautiful day. A slight breeze, sun coming in and out of the clouds, and warm weather! We spent the whole day tubing, jet-skiing, and soaking up the summer sun. We grilled dinner again and had a bonfire with s'mores and some croquet.
We came home Sunday afternoon feeling a little down. This week we're back to work for a few days of in-service and getting our classroom ready. The boys are back to daycare three days a week and life goes on. We had an absolutely wonderful summer and we feel so blessed to have gone to all the places we did as a family. I'm sad to see it come to an end and I know I'll miss my bugs when I'm back at work, but for now, I'm thinking ahead to all the celebrations we have to look forward to in September.
A nice holiday weekend is coming up with minimal plans followed by Evan's birthday next Tuesday. I can't believe the little guy is going to be 2! We're in full-on potty training mode wearing only underwear during the day, he's sleeping in a toddler bed, and talking up a storm. It's crazy how fast they grow up - especially the second baby! We have the boys' joint birthday party in early September, two other birthday parties, a wedding, and a concert. I'm going to enjoy my last weekend of relaxation before a whole new version of crazy begins.
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