Category: outing

I have no photos of IKEA. Once we got there we got sucked into a vortex of suspiciously inexpensive, yet aesthetically pleasing, Swedish furniture which all has names with lots of umlauts, causing us to completely forget about our cameras and try to spend as much money as possible without having to rent a U-haul.

We did, however, take a few shots at the Ann Arbor farmer’s market. The market alone made me want to go home and start packing my things, not to mention the fun, artsy town and all the people who looked like they could become my best friends by lunchtime. But then I remembered the almond croissants at our farmer’s market and the free babysitting down the driveway, and that helped temper my urge to call a moving truck.

Or, in the spirit of the day, maybe I should call it a “müving truk”.

We went to the museum today, and were pleasantly surprised to discover it was virtually empty. We have ben encountering end-of-year trips everywhere we go these days, so I’m getting used to crushing in among hoards of unruly pre-teens. But today? Blissfully empty.

Neko got to sit and play with an old favorite, the magnetic animals, without anyone trying to take them away from her. She likes to put them together all crazy like the Mixed Up Chameleon.

Shep is just thrilled to not be battling others to play. He ran around in circles for a while, and then finally sat down to play. He’s beginning to pretend, and was pointing to these big, round crayons telling me that one was the mommy, one was the daddy and one was the baby.

And I could have left him in the ball area until next Monday. That magic tube of air that shoots the ball up into the air was totally mezmerizing, and now that he’s grown a few inches, he can do it all by himself.

Hooray for having a little personal space!

Ellery slept from 8:30pm until 8:00am, only waking twice to eat. Good job, kid. You can keep that up.

On a not-so-positive note, will someone please remind me that Fridays in the month of May are a godawful time to go to any place that a school might even consider taking their kids. Last week, we went to the zoo. Ridiculously crowded. Today we went to the aquarium. And, you know, when I saw the line of 50 kids stretching out beyond the main door, I almost did a 180 and ran. But Neko and Shep have been watching this DVD about aquariums all week and I didn’t have a prayer of not going.

So we went. An intimate trip of us and about 300 kids and not-very-attentive chaparones all crammed into a teeney midwest aquarium. I’m developing a theory that kids between the ages of 8 and 14 have no field of vision below their chests because Neko and Shep almost got plowed about 26 times. And they’ve changed the traffic flow, and somehow we missed the otters, which Neko was pretty ticked about. But somehow, out of the 642 frantic pre-adolescents trying to touch the baby sharks, Neko managed to do it, which made her toally forget the otters and exit in a blissful state.

Later we got pizza and had a picnic by the river in the sunshine, and everyone should have a picnic by the river in the sunshine in a box in their closet for rainy days because I completely forgot all about the crowds and suddenly we were all smiling.

A local airport had an airplane show, and we decided it was a great idea for a sunny Saturday morning.

The kids were interested in the airplanes and poking their heads inside, but nothing could compare to the helicopters. They were giving rides for $35 a shot, but getting to watch them take off and land was totally free! The kids loved watching. As it took off, Shep would go running after it, as though he was going to keep up.

Free hot dogs and a trip to the playground rounded out the morning. Then Tom was off to sell tees at a street fair and I headed home to orchestrate naps.

Neko, you should note that you are beginning that phase of your life where you hide from the camera and scold me when I try to take your picture. So I don’t want any guilt trips when you notice there aren’t as many photos of you these days. I’m working overtime to get the few you see here.

And Ellery, you’re already scowling for the camera. I have a feeling Neko has been giving you some tips.

I know it can’t last, but we’ve got a few days of amazing weather in our hands. As I suspected, moods have improved dramatically.

Since her friend Ben is in preschool on playgroup days, he and Neko don’t see much of each other lately. Beth and I have been trying to make an effort to get the kids together, and today our schedules finally meshed.

After some frenzied running in circles around the house, we decided to take everyone outside, and, ultimately, to the pond. We hadn’t been since fall, so it was nice to stretch our legs and get moving. The buds of leaves are starting to peak out of the trees, and in a few weeks the whole place will be green. The kids spent ages throwing rocks in the pond, finding snail shells, and exploring the banks. Beth and I even had a chance to talk since the kids were so busy with their own work.

I consider it a bit of a celebratory visit, since the Planning Commission has agreed to have the bypass go around the farm (rather than through it) once it goes into the conservation trust. Very, very good news.

Lately I’ve been daydreaming of Boulder. I dunno…maybe it’s the weather or the bypass or the search for a preschool or the never-ending laundry, but I’ve been in a funk. I have these moments where I wonder why we haven’t packed it up and moved to a place with mountains and lakes and bikes paths around every corner.

Today was one of those days where there was no plan. I called Susie and we settled on the zoo. But on the way, I threw out the possibility of the playground near the airport. But Doug really wanted to be in on that trip, and he wasn’t available. So then we contemplated heading down south to the levy. Spontaneity got the best of us, and off we went.

And it was perfect. The kids literally ran across the bridge (which is no short distance), and then through the park and to the playground beyond. They climbed and jumped and played until we realized it was past lunchtime. Even Alex and Ellery were awake and content an unprecedented amount of time. Chris and Shep both ran back across the bridge while Neko took in the sights from the stroller. We were going to brave a restaurant for pizza, but they had a twenty minute wait, so we took it to go, and picnicked on a spot overlooking the river.

By the time we got home, it was closing in on 4pm, and everyone was sleepy and tired in all the right ways.

And these are the times when Boulder clicks back into the category of Vacation Destination. If I moved, I couldn’t call my sister at a moment’s notice to take our kids on an outing. I couldn’t watch them giggle as they run full throttle, knowing these cousins are forming lifelong friendships. And with a little creativity, we find these nuggets of goodness that can fill our days without moving halfway across the county.

Today was the alumni reunion at MFS. I go to take pictures for the newsletter and see a few old faces, and the kids go to tear apart the kindergarten in record speed.

Neko packed her Ariel costume, and put it on mid-way through the party to share with everyone. Shep was fascinated by the stairs and the drinking foutain. Really, if entertainment were this easy at home, I’d be totally caught up on all my magazines.