Another quiet fall week, getting back into the swing of things. I’m starting to migrate from standing with the kids at the bust stop to watching them at the bus stop from the front door. We’re getting the timing down with the bus app so it’s a short wait – but soon it will be a colder wait.

Bedtime story books! We finished up our Legend of Korra graphic novel this week which works well because the kids have started bringing home library books from school – some for them to read and some for me to read.

Sammy had a hard time falling asleep a few weeks ago but, this week, it’s Steven who struggled. Holding his hand while he fell asleep did the trick. <3

Picture day outfits. Once again, the kids have full authority on what they wear for picture day. Though I did suggest this shirt for Sammy since he has two of them and wears it every other day. Can’t wait to see those school pictures!

It was beautiful on Tuesday afternoon and I was home by 5:30pm so Sophia and I took the kids to a playground. They were excited to bump into one of the boys’ classmates, Eliana, and her brother. It was great for me, too, to get outside in such nice weather.

Pre-bed cuddles for the men

On Wednesday, as the kids were about to leave for swim, I got an email that swim was canceled due to an “incident in the pool”. I’m glad they left it at that! So, with the kids already in the van, Sophia made another playground day out of it. Whoo hoo!

This time it’s Mommy snuggles for Steven

With our apples from apple picking, Sophia made homemade apple sauce. She had the idea for Amaya to do a taste test against store bought. No surprise Amaya could tasted the difference and preferred homemade.

Now that I’m going into the office more often, a treat in my day is seeing the kids come home from school via the nest cam. This week, on Thursday, I was able to talk to them through the nest cam microphone. I love it!

This sweet girl let me put her hair in a ponytail for school on Friday. Miracle of miracles.

Watching a family of deer in our backyard. It doesn’t get old.

After many days out, Amaya’s teacher was back as of Friday. Hooray! And here are some pictures of the boys’ class from Mrs. Bates. I remember sitting at my desk all day in Mrs. Fish’s 2nd grade class. This looks a lot more fun.

Friday afternoon, so we didn’t have to go over the weekend, Steven and I went to JJ’s for a haircut. Some quality Mom / Bobes time.

Overheard…
Barber: Oh, who do you play with in the pool?
Steven: My brother and sister
Barber: How old are they?
Steven: Seven
Barber: Both of them?
Steven: Yeah, we’re triplets
Barber: I don’t think I’ve ever met triplets
Steven: I hear that a lot

Their life experience is so interesting.

Meanwhile, Sophia took the Sammy and Amaya back to the playground while we were out.

Post hair-cut cuddles with my boys, while we watched The Dragon Prince. Steven asked for short on the sides, long on top, and a lightening bolt.

Saturday morning was quiet – magnatiles for Daddy and the boys + some homemade lemonade made by the kids. Truly delicious.

They spent the afternoon at their friend Ruxin’s house for a playdate. Ruxin has a new puppy, Hudson, and it took a Amaya a while to warm up but eventually she was willing to pet him. Sammy was sold from moment one.

Dinner was out at Garage which gave us our first look at downtown Northville’s Halloween skeletons. A favorite tradition!

It’s rainy-ish today so the kids spent a good portion of the day decorating the house for Halloween. When I woke up, they were already at it.

Sally just sits there in the middle of their chaos.

Amaya and I went shopping for dinner and she came up with the idea of homemade muchables. We got salame, pepperoni, cheeses, lox, cream cheese and crackers. Then she put together a menu with check boxes for everyone to decide what they wanted. For example, Steven had one pepperoni “sandwich” and three lox & cream cheese sandwiches. It was a great idea and she was super cute getting it all organized.

Her menu

Taking Daddy’s order

With sous chef Sammy

Yum!!

That’s it for us here in the Land of Cheltenham. Have a great week!

It’s always weird to look back on Monday. It feels like so much happens in the week and Monday seems so long ago.

This past Monday, Nana was still at our house. She left for the airport at the same time the kids got on the bus for school so she was able to see them off.

We ordered some tea lights for Amaya’s little pumpkin and they worked perfectly. Her hearts are wonderful. She was even able to eat roasted pumpkin seeds from this cute little gourd.

Even in 2nd grade, it’s fun to play pretend doctor. Jason was a great patient for Amaya and Sammy. And they cleared up many of his mysterious maladies.

Cuddling with my Bobes. We finished our re-watch of The Legend of Korra and started on The Dragon Prince.

We had a lot of rain this week. No fun. On Tuesday it was rainy enough in the morning to warrant rain coats and umbrellas. For the kids, it also means indoor recess. Fortunately, they don’t seem to mind the free time in their classroom.

Bubba

Sophia took the kids to swim on her own this week and it was all going swimmingly (see what I did there?) until the power went out. Every one rolled with the punches, though!

It’s been a while, but on Thursday night Amaya had time to FaceTime with Charlie – for a while, too, which she loved. Afterwards, if it was on my phone, I always find screenshots of Charlie in my photo roll. <3

Jason calls this “Pre School Bus Breakfast Table.” On days I’m going into the office, I’m nearly ready by this time. But on days I’m working from home and don’t have meetings until 9am, I may very well still be in my PJs at 7:45am.

Here are some pictures I grabbed from Mrs. Bates’ weekly video.

Friday night cuddles for Daddy with Sammy and with Sally.

Sweet Steven, ready for Sleep with Parents Night.

On Saturday, we took a family overnight trip to Lansing to visit Grandma Sunshine and Annette. I haven’t been to visit in ages! Usually, when the kids go with Jason for a day, I take it as my very rare full day home alone. I didn’t want to miss the chance to visit, though. It was definitely better than being home alone.

This Cozy Coup has been around since the kids were young toddlers.

At Sammy’s request, we played a game of Monopoly and did not deal out the properties at the start of the game.

Team Samommy

Team Gramaya

Rounded it out with team Stedaddy. And the game continued into Sunday…

Before dinner, Amaya said she wanted to pull out her tooth and off she went! She was smart and took a paper towel with her which she definitely needed. Tough girl!

For dinner, we went to a sports bar & arcade and Grandma Sunshine treated the kids to arcade cards after dinner. They had a blast.

We picked up the Monopoly game again this morning. Despite our best effort, Sammy and I were first out in the game that lasted until this morning. Stedaddy put up a good fight but Gramaya was victorious!

Counting their winnings

It was a tough goodbye for the kids when we headed back to Novi this morning.

Amaya didn’t want to leave her baby twins – Hannah and Izzy

Steven loves Grandma’s red door

SSA all helped me out with some yard work when we got home. They’re great helpers.

It was a beautiful, beautiful September day so, after lunch, the kids and I headed over to Erwin Orchard in South Lyon for apple picking. Despite how it looks in my pictures, the place was absolutely packed. Long lines to get our bag and long lines for the wagon to the apple trees but it was worth it!

So many apples

Late afternoon Lions game – what a finish. Delay of game penalty that goes uncalled resulting in an NFL record 66 yard field goal for the Ravens. The boys were flipping out.

Our day wrapped up with a late afternoon playdate for Sammy and his new friend Nolan at the Thornton Creek playground. Nolan is in his class for the first time and they ride the morning bus together. Amazingly, Nolan’s mom is from Long Island, too!

That’s it for us. Have a great week!

It was the first full(ish) week of school and everyone did great! Bussing is still an issue for the district like it is everywhere but we’ve had pretty good luck so far. Except for one day when the bus was 15- 20 min late and one day when the bus was about 35 min late getting home, the kids have been close to on time. On Friday, the kids actually got home when we expected. Hopefully it keeps up.

We have a bus app that tracks the bus on it’s way to our house. In the morning, Steven loves to watch the bus on it’s route to Cheltenham.

On Tuesday evening Amaya had a make-up swim lesson so our new nanny, Sophia, and I went together. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to swim with the kids so I loved getting to see her class.

I went into the office on Wednesday for a board meeting and the timing worked out perfectly. The kids were on the bus by 8:10am and I was at my desk before an 8:30am meeting. We’re really lucky that the bus schedule works out so well and that I work so close to home.

It’s been a long time since we’ve taken a bus stop selfie!

Deer walking across our street! Love the deer, fear the possibility of ticks in our yard.

The kids and I stayed home on Thursday for Yom Kippur. We had a quiet morning, which included celebrating Chucky’s birthday. (See that smart pink track suit she’s wearing? A sweet gift from me.)

It was a beautiful day so Sophia and I packed lunch for the kids and took them to two different playgrounds in the late morning/early afternoon. At this time of year I’m very conscious about spending as much time outside as possible.

After the playground, the kids and I went to Temple Israel for their Yom Kippur Family service. It was such a wonderful experience. Temple Israel has a beautiful outdoor sanctuary and the service is geared to families with kids ages 6+. I think there were probably 200- 300 people there. Such a nice community!

Afterward, the kids and I baked apple bread – another Raddish Kids recipe.

Mrs. Bates, the boys’ teacher, sent another end-of-week video of the class. I love looking for Steven and Sammy in the pictures. It looks like such a great classroom environment. I’m so happy for the boys! (Unfortunately Amaya’s teacher lost her mother this week so was out for a few days so, while communication isn’t as consistent, Amaya seems very happy as well.)

We’re very proud of Steven for coming home with this Bravo card from music. The back says, “Your child went out of his/her way to be cooperative in music class today. This “Bravo” award is to show my appreciation for such fine behavior!”

We are about to have a string of tooth fairy visits in the Land of Cheltenham. All three kids have loose top teeth (their first) and the boys’ are about ready to fall out. I am really going to miss their little baby-tooth smiles. I know it’s time but this is a hard one for me.

This weekend we had another visit from Nana! She’s back on a monthly schedule!! Since the kids are in school it’s a quicker trip – Friday afternoon to Monday morning – but we can have a lot of fun in that time.

The kids were showing Sally a book about a cat that goes to NY. Sally has been so great with SSA. She loves to be pet and is super patient with the kids. I love it.

A first for us – on Friday night Steven and Amaya slept in one of the beds in our basement guest room with Nana.

Tradition continued on Saturday morning with a Starbucks visit for breakfast. <3

It was a busy Saturday. After Starbucks, we went to Aquatots for a make-up swim lesson for the boys. After going to Amaya’s lesson on Tuesday, it was nice to see the boys at swim, too.

Amaya was hard at work coloring, working to earn a discount on swim lessons from a coloring contest. I promised SSA that any discounts earned would be shared with them.

Nana, the kids and I spent the early afternoon in Northville. They have a small little heritage festival to support Northville High School so we checked it out.

For the first time, we stopped into the Northville Art House. Each of the kids picked out their favorite paintings.

Nana and Amaya’s favorite

Sammy’s favorite

Steven’s favorite

Steven also really likes American flags

Checking out some gourds. All 3 kids left with pumpkins, compliments of Nana.

They had a petty zoo with goats, sheep, llamas and a pony. Sammy loved feeding the little goats.

Lunch outside

The kids really liked this 3D chalk drawing and had fun posing inside the art.

We all rounded out the afternoon at the playground by Novi high school. Such a nice day!

Steven and his pumpkin

Amaya has been so busy with art this weekend. She cut and painted memory foam for squishies and painted her new little pumpkin.

Sammy got a rocket slingshot at the festival. It was a huge hit until it landed on our roof. 🙁 Should have seen that coming.

Bedtime story books. We just started a new Legend of Korra graphic novel.

This morning Nana took the kids to Hebrew School and we had a quiet early afternoon at home.

Sammy and his giant pumpkin.

Jason helping Amaya carve her mini pumpkin while Steven paints his.

Carved hearts!

Nana helping Steven with “The Hardest Hidden Picture Book Ever”.

Early afternoon, the kids, Nana and I headed to Maybury Farm for their corn maze. This is our third year and the kids were determined to get through it without relying on photos we took on the map. Fifty five minutes and we did it!

A map of the maze.

The biggest dead ends have maps to get you back on track. We hit two of them along the way. The kids are holding scavenger hunt sheets. Along the maze were stations with the answers to farm-based trivia questions.

After the corn maze we went to the “next-door” playground at Maybury park for a bit and then Nana and SSA tooled around Northville while I waited for takeout.

Steven rounded out the weekend by completing his vision for his pumpkin. I think it’s awesome!

Have a great week!

And off they went! Steven, Sammy and Amaya set out for 2nd grade on Tuesday and had a great week!

For comparison, here’s the first day of 1st grade. They’ve grown so much!

Inspired by our trip to Charlevoix, when Steven grows up he wants to be a draw bridge operator.

Sammy would like to be a chemist. “I want to be a scientist. What’s the name of the kind of scientist that works with chemicals?”

Amaya wants to be a singer, and will soon start working on that stage fright. <3

Back at the bus stop! Yay!! Their bus comes around 8:10 AM which is perfect for our morning schedule (on most days). As long as I don’t have meetings before 8:30 AM, which is the norm, we’re golden. If I need to be in office, my short commute gives me the time I need to get there after the kids board the bus.

Same bus driver as in K! He couldn’t believe how much they’ve grown since he last saw them (in March 2020).

Getting on the bus on the first day of Kindergarten. I was so glad to see the march right on the bus just like they had back then.

It was weird to go back into the house when they left. It was so quiet! Fortunately, two other second grade moms came over from brunch which helped with the transition.

Steven and Sammy’s teacher, Mrs. Bates, sent us this first day of school photo. Sammy is in the front left of the photo. Steven is in the middle.

It sounded like a great first day (and great first week). I only get dribs and drabs of their day, which is definitely a change for me after getting regular reports from Penni but, like I did in K, I’ll get used to it. I was happy to learn that, at least for now, the teachers have discretion to take the kids outside for extra recess as they all acclimate to a full day in the classroom. About 1/3 of the students in the school were virtual last year and I appreciate the awareness that this is a big shift.

Since this was Penni’s last week as our nanny, on Monday the kids gave her this ceramic piece that they made for her. <3 Penni is amazing and we were so lucky to have her with us for the past 18 months. We spent a lot of time together between our days in the house, two trips to FL and a trip to NY. I’m going to miss her as much as the kids will!

This week was a lot of bus pictures – going to school, coming home from school. I tried hard to arrange my schedule for the week to allow me be outside when they get home. (They’re first on the bus and first off, so it makes for a longer morning – which is better for our work schedule – but a shorter time on the bus getting home. The morning bus has been very timely so far but the afternoon but has been running 10+ minutes late. I’m guessing they’ll get into a routine as the year goes on.)

Mrs. Bates send a video of photos from the first week of school and I grabbed this picture of the boys playing together. They’re not joined at the hip so it’s fun to see when they do interact – though I have no idea if it’s by choice.

On Wednesday afternoon, Penni took the kids out for a “See Ya Later” dinner at Applebees. It’s definitely “see ya later” because, as the kids call it, we’ll make sure that Penni is a kid-sitter for us going forward.

Showing off her new school sneakers! Steven got those cool Adidas Lego sneakers a few weeks ago, which he was saving for the first day of school. Sammy ordered the exact same sneakers he had previously, but in a bigger size. Amaya went for these sparkly kicks.

Friday – still eagerly off to the bus!

And home from the end of their first week of 2nd grade. I’m so happy for the kids. <3

Sammy was really excited to share this Gator puppet he made at school. (They’re the Thornton Creek Gators.)

As Penni departs, Sophia joins our family. Sophia’s first day was Thursday but, so far, it seems like she’ll be a great fit. She seems excited to work with us and the kids also seem to have a good, early connection. I’m hopeful!!

For bedtime stories, the kids and I are making our way through another Avatar the Last Airbender (ATLA) graphic novel. This universe is so rich with media that we can stay engaged for a long time – perfect for all of us because I’m a fan, too.

Bubba and Sal. This picture makes me so happy.

On Saturday morning, I headed to the airport for a dual birthday celebration for Uncle Bob and Aunt Denise. (Poppy Steven’s brother and SIL.) The kids were very excited for a movie night with cheesecake/red velvet cake. 🙂

Why not watch tv under the table?

Meanwhile, Nana, Aunt Sara and I headed to Armonk to celebrate with the Goldsteins. To commemorate a party from 20 years ago, the theme was Vicar and Tarts – very British just like Aunt Denise.

Cousins!

On the drive home, we could see Manhattan. It was a big low moon hanging right by the 9/11 memorial lights.

I took an early flight home so I could spend some of the weekend SSA and Jason. While I was in-flight, the kids had their first day of Hebrew school!

This afternoon, at Sammy’s request, we had a Lego Egg Drop challenge. The kids and I all built containers to hold an egg and we dropped it off the side of the deck. The prize for the winner was not having to help clean up.

We all took turns and Amaya was the winner! Her egg stayed intact!

It’s football season and Steven enjoyed some of the Lions game with Jason.

Upside-down girl!

We were hanging out outside when I remembered how much Steven liked the playground in Maybury State Park when we were there on Monday so the kids and I hopped in the car and headed over. Steven predicted that Amaya would love the zip line and he was right. They all loved it!

We wrapped up dinner at Garage. First time I’ve been there since the pandemic started! (Not the first time Jason and the kids have been there, though!)

Have a great week!

That’s a wrap! After nearly 18 months at home, tomorrow Steven, Sammy and Amaya head back to Thornton Creek and start 2nd grade. I can’t believe it. Despite a fully, successful year of first grade at home, it doesn’t quite seem for 2nd grade. 2nd grade!

It was a wonderful, full week where we tried to balance setting the stage for the return to school and enjoying one last week of downtime. Even for me, the routine of school mornings feels like a lifetime ago. At home, the kids didn’t have to be ready for school until 8:50am. Now we’ll be heading to the bus stop shortly after 8. New routines abound.

Monday and Tuesday were quiet days. Library books. Art projects, Magnatiles. Parks. Swim.

Amaya made cardboard relief art.

First day of level 4 for Steven and Sammy!

On Wednesday evening, the kids and I headed over to Thornton Creek for open house / meet the teacher. It was great to be in the busy school though, with no visitors allowed, I’m not sure when I’ll get to return. There are four 2nd grade classrooms with two by the K and 1st grade rooms (where Steven and Sammy are) and two over by the upper grades (where Amaya is). We found our classrooms, handed in our supplies and got to meet our teachers.

Steven and Sammy’s room with Mrs. Bates.

Amaya’s room with Mrs. Boomer.

Popsicles afterward!

On Wednesday night, both Amaya and Steven had trouble falling asleep so down they came while I watched TV. I think this was a first, and another first was that we let them sleep through the night downstairs together. They were both very surprised to wake up downstairs!

At lunchtime on Thursday, the kids and I packed up the car and started the drive up north for a weekend in Charlevoix and Petoskey. We went to Petoskey early July 2020 and I was so excited for another weekend away.

We made good time and, by 4:30pm, were at our cabin on Oyster Bay / Lake Charlevoix. Truly a rustic little spot off a dirt road. No wifi, no AC, no water & dryer. The kids looooved it.

We checked out the lake and dock before even going inside.

After we got settled, we headed to downtown Charlevoix. I had only been one time before, five years ago, for a wedding. We wandered around town and got the lay of the land before grabbing dinner.

Steven named this gnome, “Papa”. 🙂

There’s a drawbridge going into Charlevoix and it was a huuuuuge draw for the kids, especially Steven. It’s active, too, so over the course of three days they got more than their share of draw bridge openings.

Steven and a map.

A late dinner outdoors.

While we were eating, we got our first draw bridge excitement. Can you see it open in the distance?

The kids really liked that the house was a log cabin. It had a loft that Amaya immediately claimed. She did offer to share with the brothers on a rotating schedule.

We had a lazy Friday morning and then headed to Petoskey. We ate at a restaurant we visited last time, which was a fun memory to revisit.

After lunch we headed down by the pier in our wet suits and carrying metal detectors. I was almost deserted when we first arrived. The kids had a great time searching for metal, finding rocks (Amaya found a petoskey stone) and swimming. It was cool, but the wet suits kept the kids warm enough. They were a great investment this summer.

Walking out to the lighthouse, the kids were on “gnat patrol”, swatting away the little bugs in the area.

From there, we went to Petoskey State Park where we spent the rest of the afternoon. The water was so calm and it got progressively warmer.

Steven and Sammy were the hit of the beach with their metal detectors. Steven even found a tent hook~

This older guy came by with his metal detector and talked with the kids for a bit. He said that the key is patience and more patience. You can find great stuff but you have to put in the time. I think he really liked seeing a bunch of kids who were the same age he was when he got started.

Sammy spent a long time building this castle. Then he had a great time destroying it.

The night before we tried to get an outdoor table at a waterside restaurant in Charlevoix but the wait was too long so we tried again on Friday and got seated right away. Prime spot to watch the draw bridge open 3 times over the course of our meal.

Saturday morning was another lazy morning and I woke up feeling sick. (Though later recovered.) It was rainy, with rain in the forecast for Sunday as well, so the kids and I decided to enjoy the day and then start making our way back to Novi a day early so we could get to the State Fair on Sunday. It was easy to come to the decision together knowing sunshine was in the forecast back home.

We walked around Charlevoix and had lunch.

We passed by a flower store with this beautiful doorway.

Steven staged the photos of the three kids together. I just executed his vision. 🙂

One last trip out back to the dock. You can see Amaya is wearing my Charlevoix sweatshirt.

Before we left, Steven took pictures of everything.

Little cabin on the lake.

On our way to Petoskey, we stopped at Roadside Park on Lake Michigan. One last chance to find beautiful rocks.

Detour to buy pottery for my rocks!

The main goal of our stop in Petoskey was to visit a toy store. The kids remembered it from last time and, to be fair, it’s a good one.

Steven left with a new friend – Flying Morminer.

None of us wanted to get home late so we decided to stay the night at a hotel on the way home. Our Panda Express was waiting for us when we arrived. Perfect.

“Surprising” daddy on Sunday morning with our earily arrival!

And then it was off to the state fair. Jason had a fantasy football draft at 2pm so the kids and I headed over around 1pm. Jason finally made it around 5pm, after a ton of traffic and long long lines to get in. The crowds got heavier and heavier as the day progressed. It took us over 30 minutes just to get lemonade and corn dogs.

But it was worth it. We had so much fun.

There was a limit of 3 people in each ferris wheel car so Amaya and Steven went off on their own while I rode with Sammy. He wasn’t thrilled about the height.

Once Jason arrived, Sammy and I were able to ride The Tornado. The first pic is before he went and still a little nervous. The next is right after. We would have taken another turn on this ride if time had allowed. But Amaya had her eyes set on the fun slide.

Bounce house! Amaya and Steven had their turn while Sammy and I were on The Tornado.

We had an intentionally lazy day today, with tomorrow kicking off a new school year. (I still can’t believe it. Back to school! And second grade!)

While i did some work, the kids and Jason spent a lot of time looking at ball cards.

Sammy, the avocado picker

A hair touch-up in preparation for school tomorrow.

Steven and I enjoyed the great weather with a trail walk at Maybury State Park, down the road. It’s perfect for him because the trail is interspersed with many, many maps. (But they’re also full of mosquitoes, who love Steven.)

We wrapped up the long weekend and “real life hiatus” with burgers and hot dogs from Daddy.

And that’s it! Off we go!

Last week was the penultimate week of summer break and Steven, Sammy and Amaya’s time away from Thornton Creek. The last year almost feels like a dream. I’m so curious how it will fit into their memories of childhood.

On Monday the crew went geocaching with Penni. Only Sammy found something but they all seemed to have fun despite a million mosquitos.

On Tuesday afternoon, Steven had an appointment with the doctor who moved him out of orthotics last year. Steven had a bit of hypermobility so he wanted to see him again in a year and Tuesday was the day. He’s now officially released from all treatment and care. Whoo hoo!!

Counting his quarters. Sammy wanted to save up for a metal detector and had over $19 in coins to add to the Mommy Bank.

Legend of Korra cuddles with two of my favorites. Did I mention that Sally turned 17 this month? If so, I’ll mention it again. Seventeen! My sweet girl.

Wednesday was another splash pad day. They’re definitely making the most of the end of summer!

I was working on Wednesday afternoon which this little guy or gal came to visit me. I love frogs so I turned off my video to grab some pics. Frogs and lizards are my jam.

I think I’ve mentioned that the kids use their devices in the morning before Penni arrives. On any given day, when I come down for my coffee, I find the kids sitting in all sort of weird positions and places with their iPods. (It’s definitely going to be a shift next week when 7:30am means devices away & breakfast time. 😬)

Me: Sammy, are you still wearing yesterday’s clothes?

Sammy: Noooooooooo

Thursday at swim was a HUGE milestone for Steven and Sammy. They officially moved up to level 4 in swim! I’m so proud of how hard these guys have worked to get comfortable in the water. It just recently clicked and I think they’re going to fly forward from here.

Here are their most recent swim cards. You can see all the boys mastered in level three and how Amaya is fairing in level 7.

This week we officially hit 500 hours outside! I’ve really loved being mindful about getting outdoors. We’ve made choices to go outside when otherwise we may have stayed inside instead. We started tracking on November 2nd and, thanks to our trips to FL, hit our goal on August 25th. (I’ve since updated the chart.)

Thanks to a request from Steven, on Thursday afternoon Penni and her niece Lily took SSA to Greenfield Village. It’s been a while since they’ve gone (last summer maybe), and the first time in a long time they could do indoor activities. All of the kids loved the carousel but I also heard a lot about the Wright Brother’s house

We decided to get metal detectors for the kids and they tried them out on Friday. They found a lot of bottle caps and Amaya found a fishing lure. They’ve asked me to bury coins in the sand the next time we’re at a beach so I’ll make that happen. But maybe they’ll find something that wasn’t planted. 🙂

The rule is that you have to fill in any hole you dig and you can’t dig up grass.

Goofy girl with her face mask!

We had a lazy morning on Saturday. Amaya and Steven held birthday parties for Flopsy and Allie, respectively, and Sammy did some geode smashing.

Flopsy

Allie, opening his gifts.

As part of Allie’s party we had an alligator drawing challenge. Sammy didn’t want to participate so he was group photographer. He was really proud of the different angles he shot from. Here’s a sample:

And one of the alligators. This one is Amaya’s.

Amaya has gotten really comfortable prepping food. She regularly slices apples with the knives they got from Nana and Papa. I asked her if she was being careful and she said, “Look how far my fingers are from the knife.”

We spent the afternoon at the pool and it was amazing. We usually go early in the day and stay into the afternoon but Saturday’s plan was to stay through dinner. It was hot so we all spent a ton of time swimming.

They opened up some of the pool usually reserved for swimming lanes so the kids were able to swim in deeper water. Sammy and Steven really impressed me with their skills!

Back floaters. Steven could like like that for a really long time.

Back home, snuggles with daddy. We’ve been watching the Paralympics at night and, last night, watched the paratriathlon. These athletes are unreal.

Sammy and I had a lot of time together today. I offered to take the kids to the splash pad / water slides at Kensington Metro Park and, originally, Sammy wasn’t going but wanted some time we me so we had a great game of air hockey. I was playing lefty and Sammy was the winner.

It was another really, really hot day. This splash pad has an entry fee but it’s worth it for the water slides. I also love the view of the lake. Sammy doesn’t like the slides so he and I spent time in the splash pad. (Me in clothes, because I forgot to wear a bathing suit.)

Amaya and Steven spent two hours on the water slides. They also tried the closed / tunnel slide for the first time and loved it!

Great day!

Now we’re ready for our last week of summer break. After Labor Day, Steven, Sammy and Amaya return to school!

Have a great week!

Another Sunday, another day at a playground writing the blog while the kids play. They’re the only ones here and it’s so nice that they have each other.

The early part of this week was spent with Legos building the sets that Steven and I brought home from Legoland. The kids tore through them, and Sammy’s has a neat interactive component with a map. Steven’s is the first motorized set we have. (He has. It’s his. But none of us had completed motorized sets yet.)

Monday was Lindsay’s last day. 🙁 She’s already back at school after 3 great months with the kids. If only she was local and could have stayed on this fall!

Lindsay brought gifts for the kids. Steven got a stuffed monkey because “Monkey” is his nickname for Lindsay. Amaya got more face paint. Sammy got a cookbook – which he’s already put into use.

The kids also had gifts for Lindsay – two decorated plates and a mug. 🙂

What a great summer!!

Lindsay and the kids wrapped up their last day with dinner out together.

The kids left a review for the restaurant. 😂

Tuesday was nuts. I had meetings at home in the morning. Then I had to run to the office to pick up our CTO who’s was in from Scottsdale. We did a school tour but the time bumped up against another meeting I had to attend so we went home and he took our van to grab lunch for us. By the time my meeting was ending, he was back at the house and spent time with SSA. (This is the game guy from last week’s blog who thrilled Sammy with stories about being an Army Ranger. Sammy was shocked to see him in person.) Abe’s definitely got the “kid gene”. He knows how to engage young kids with real ease. For me, it’s great to have such natural relationships with my colleagues.

Penni and the kids got to playgrounds at least three days this week. They’re traveling all over the area for new adventures. I hated for them to miss another summer of camp – especially before they get back to school after all this time off because the structure is helpful – but it’s been a really great summer. Penni’s been amazing the past 17 months.

Steven, on the phone with Jason, making evening plans.

The evening plans.

Amaya is still crafting, crafting, crafting. She borrowed a book on Crafty Handbags and made one from a pair of old jeans and another from a

Because she knows they love to cook, my friend Ames (Bitcherie!) got the kids a loom to make potholders. Amaya has been obsessed. She’s already made 4 and said she needs to stop to give The Brothers a turn.

First ever!

She experimented with what happens if she didn’t do a strict “over under” pattern.

Amaya wants this picture labeled, “Big, medium and small.” She looks so old.

On Thursday, the kids spent 4+ hours at a playground/splash pad. The week prior, Steven met a boy who thought he’d be back at this same time. He didn’t show, but Steven made new friends to play with. Such a social kid.

Showtime is snuggle time….

Steven, reading about natural disasters.

I’ll definitely be sad when the day comes that Steven no longer wants to fall asleep clutching me. Here, it was my leg.

On Saturday, we spent allllllllllll day at the JCC pool with Claire and Ruxin’s families. There were 7 kids and, for a good part of the day, they had the shallow end of the pool entirely to themselves. All 3 moms got in the water, too, and Claire passed the deep end test so she was able to jump with Amaya.

It shocks me, to be honest, that the pool is so quiet on such a nice day. But it’s great for us!

This shot, mid jump, looks like Amaya is walking on water!

Today was HOT. The kids played at the playground for about 30 minutes before calling it. We headed to The Bees Knees where we had a pottery painting reservation. Amaya painted an alien. Steven painted a gnome. Sammy painted a little 2-piece puppy container.

Afterward we walked around Northville and got some ice cream from Browndog. So good! They even had a special ice cream for me. (And, when you eat there, you can get all sorts of special treats like a caramel martini with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream inside or boozy milkshakes.

Steven took this pictures of me playing cornhole with Sammy. 🙂

We wrapped up our day at Outback. I’m still getting used to eating inside restaurants after all that time when we couldn’t.

Finally, some pictures of bedtime story time.

Have a great week!

It’s been a long week. A good week, but it feels like it was a long one.

Penni was off on Friday, 8/6, and returned from her trip with gifts for the kids including some maps of MI for Steven. After all this time, she knows SSA so well. It’s crazy to think that our time together is coming to an end in just a few weeks. I know we hope Penni will still babysit but it’s definitely a change from ~18 months of all day together.

Tomorrow (Monday) is Lindsay’s last day with us. The three months went by so fast! It feels like we all just met! We’re hoping we can stay in touch with Lindsay, too, as she heads back to OH for school.

Somewhere, the kids heard about a “Stay in the Kitchen” challenge and Amaya & Sammy staged one this week. The brought enough supplies to last hours – including pull-ups in case they needed to use the bathroom. (Lindsay put a quick stop to that and insisted that bathroom breaks were allowable.)

Face paint!

Sweet Steven needed some Daddy love at bedtime. It’s really difficult for us to say no to these kids when they want to sleep with us.

On Monday I’d emailed the kids’ principal, Mr. Jewett, to share that there was some anxiety about returning to Thornton Creek after so long away and asked if there was going to be any opportunity for last year’s virtual kids to visit the building before the start of school. He responded right away and invited us to tour the building with him – which I was able to do at lunch on Tuesday.

Mr. Jewett was a wonderful tour guide. He showed the kids everything that was new and let them visit all of the multi-purpose spaces. We talked about wearing masks at school – which now seems inevitable despite what the district had hoped back in May – and he let the kids know they can email him any other questions they have through the rest of the summer.

I’m so glad Steven, Sammy and Amaya were able to reacclimate a bit. At their age, 18 months away from school is significant.

Lindsay was a real sport at Amaya’s hair salon. 🙂

On Wednesday afternoon, Steven and I had a flight to NY. Sammy wanted to get in as much Mommy Time as possible so he spent part of the day hanging around with me while I worked. One of my colleagues saw him and they had a really cool conversation about his time in the Army Rangers. He showed Sammy so me of his memorabilia. Sammy was absolutely enthralled. It was really sweet. (This room looks so messy with the wires and fan and crap. New project to take care of this week.)

Sammy and Sally. Sally is such a gentle girl. This month she turns seventeen.

And my girls. <3 Jason sent me this photo while Steven and I were away.

Steven I headed to the airport a little before 4pm, to catch a 6:10pm flight. We were glad when it was delayed by 15 min because it gave us more time to get through the airport. Little did we know… Weather in NY held up air traffic and it was actually after 11pm when we eventually left Detroit. Steven was a total trooper through the 5 hr delay.

Around 8pm

10:30pm. Still hanging in there! At one point I consider changing our flight to the next morning but Steven had a very clear POV on our plans. He told me, “We are staying here today until they tell us we are getting on a plane or not getting on a plane. We are only getting on a plane tomorrow if they tell us we are not getting on a plane today.” So that was our plan.

YAY!!

It wasn’t long before Steven was fast asleep on my lap.

1am and Steven had his suitcase (Peso) and was ready to get to Nana’s house!

It was a good thing we made it to NY on Wednesday night (Thursday morning?) because we had BIG PLANS for Thursday – Legoland New York!! To be honest, I think I was excited as Steven was – who only learned about our plans on Monday night.

We didn’t get a full night’s sleep but the excitement of the day 100% powered us through.

Steven, at Legoland CA, almost exactly 2.5 years ago. <3

The Legoland gang!!

It was an amazing day. We were at the park from 10:30am- 5pm and, because it was extremely hot out, the crowds were low which allowed us to do everything we wanted to – some multiple times – with very short lines.

Need a map!

Miniland! I remember literally spending hours at the miniland displays in CA.

Driving school. Back in CA, Steven was too young for the big kids driving school and had to ride the Jr track. This time, he was old enough and loved it. He and Charlie rode twice.

Lots and lots of Lego vehicles to interact with.

The corn was my favorite.

Rides with Steven were a lot of fun. He’s really expanded his tolerance over the past year or so.

The Dragon’s Apprentice!

Nana got in on the fun, too <3

This is another ride that Steven didn’t love in Feb 2019 but loved this time, enough to ride twice.

His ninja moves.

After a spot at The Big Store, Steven wrapped up his day trading minifigs at a trading post.

It was such a great day!

Back in MI, it was a quite end to the week for Sammy and Amaya but they had fun and got outside for a bit, too. They even got to join Penni for her niece’s high school orientation tour.

I worked on Friday so Nana picked up Steven around 10am and kicked off Fun Friday. He helped bake and also spent a while visiting with Papa, Savta, Auntie and Dod Shuki.

Then it was a late afternoon trip to the beach. Sara, Charlie and I met them there at 5pm when we were done for the day.

Nana, Steven, Mommy shadows

They pretty much had the beach to themselves

I’m pretty sure it’s been a Sammy/Amaya/Daddy sleepover since we left.

Most of Saturday was a pretty lazy here in NY. Steven and Charlie seemed to have a great time playing together making up games together. Sara and Dave just remodeled their kitchen and back room – here’s a great view of the final result!

Out for lunch with Steven and Charlie – playing Uno while we waited for our food.

The big event of the day was a birthday party for Nana who turns 70 on August 28th. The Honigs and Blooms joined us, along with Auntie, Savta, & Syvia and Allen Goldberg.

Super Mario Party kept Steven and Charlie entertained…

Steven surfaces to say hi to everyone.

Birthday Girl

Steven and I had a nice final morning in NY. We went to a playground and Starbucks with Nana and Charlie and some last quality family time before heading to the airport.

On our way home! Fortunately this flight was on time.

Manhattan, from the plane

Steven loves the flight tracker

Steven took a whole bunch of photos as we were landing

“I always wanted this spot on the airport train!”

Back home! A big activity this weekend for Jason, Sammy and Amaya was a big bake-off! Yesterday, at the grocery store, they each had 20 minutes to shop for ingredients and then made their own unique creations. When Steven and I got home, we were the judges.

Winner for most interesting combination of flavors: Sammy

Winner for best presentation: Amaya

Winner for overall taste: Jason

By the time we were done with the tasting, it was time for shows and then bed. Amaya spent the time coloring a Lego pouch from Nana while Steven got in some Daddy cuddles.

And that’s it for us! Have a great week!

A nice playground near out house got an upgrade and it’s even nicer now – and fun for the kids because so much is new – so they’re playing while I sit at a picnic table under a tree in the shade and write this blog. For so long SSA were tentative on playground equipment but they’ve really come into their own lately – especially Steven who had always been the most hesitant. It’s great to see them play and climb so freely. (Side note: This playground also has a number of wheelchair accessible features which is very cool.)

It’s hard to believe but Nana was still here last Monday. Our weeks feel so full that it seems like eons from one Monday to the next. The kids got out to a playground but the highlight of their day was making homemade squishies with memory foam. It was an idea Amaya got from one of her library books.

Amaya’s donut

Sammy’s cupcake

Steven’s creations.

We’ve been very into the Olympics over the past two weeks. Steven liked most sports but was particularly interested in women’s gymnastics. So much focus while he watches.

Olympics + a foot massage from Daddy

A mom of 4 year old triplets was asking if it ever gets easier and I showed her this picture from Tuesday morning. I came down to get coffee for work and found Sammy sitting at the island eating oatmeal that he made on his own. I’m sure I’ve talked about the kids’ independence with breakfast but it really is amazing to look at how far we’ve come.

In fact, on Saturday, Steven prepared breakfast for me. He even reminded me to say “when” once I had enough milk. 🙂

Amaya and Sammy spent time making Lego trophies. Two are shaped like toilets, complete with flushing mechanisms. They’re saving them for when Nana comes back in Sept and they have foosball and air hockey tournaments.

Tuesday afternoon was a trip to a big playground in Ann Arbor. Maybe Gallup Park? I’m not really sure. But they were there for hours. Penni even thought ahead and brought their shovels for the sand area. It was a big hit.

More Legos this week, and it’s nice for me to see the Lego tables in use. Steven got a big police station set for Hanukkah and just dove in. He powered through the whole thing pretty quickly!

Amaya liked this picture of her eating with a big spoon. 🙂

More Olympics! First just Daddy and Bubba were cuddling but then we all joined in. I think Jason and I could have stayed there, snuggled with the kids, forever.

Wednesday was another lake day and, this time, we resurrected our llama floatie from last summer! Still works well and was even bigger than we remembered. I’d love to find a weekend to get to the lake with the kids and the llama before the summer is over.

Swim day! The kids are doing so well. Honestly, before we know it Amaya is going to be in level 8 and I’m sure it’s not long until the boys graduate to level 4. I had the opportunity to see Amaya swim at the JCC this weekend and her strokes look so strong. Both of the boys are getting more and more confident. We’ll have to see if there’s a way to maintain swim lessons in the fall.

Back at the face paint – this time Lindsay turned Amaya into an adorable teddy bear.

Steven and I saw that Lego and Adidas have a shoe collaboration and we needed some. (I think their first grade teacher would challenge our definition of “need” here but it sure felt like it!) Mine didn’t fit well but Steven’s are perfect.

On Friday night we had friends over to grill. It was supposed to be two families but Ruxin’s dad and brother have strep throat so only Claire’s family came over. It was Claire, her 5 year old sister Ellie, and her parents Laura and Rob. They stayed until about 9 and I think most of the kids would have kept going if we’d let them. (Sammy was ready to conk out.)

Sammy, Laura and I ate inside together

On Saturday, we spent a while cleaning & organizing with the kids. Jason went through all of the kids’ clothing with them – with special attention focused on Amaya – to whittle down her mountains of clothes to a manageable assortment that she’ll actually be able to find the clothes she likes best.

In the afternoon – while Steven stayed home with Jason – Sammy, Amaya and I spent a few hours at the pool. It was overcast earlier in the day so the pool was very, very quiet but the same eventually came out and the heat was in full force so it was a great way to spend the afternoon. Despite not planning on it, I even ended up in the water for a little while.

Sammy spent a while relaxing on this big chair.

Steven was obsessed with his bread bowl!

Olympics with dinner. This time it was artistic swimming (or whatever it was that they renamed synchronized swimming?). Seriously amazing to watch.

The play date on Friday night absolutely destroyed any semblance of organization in our playroom. (And that’s after the kids and Lindsay spent a long time cleaning it on Friday.) I’m determined to get it back in shape. Definitely made progress today but I think the work will extend into the week. Someone named Steven has a little extra personal cleaning to do.

I was traveling so often in late June through mid July that we had three Raddish Kids kits to catch up on. We did two with Nana last weekend and are tackling the third today. We made key lime tartlets (loved them!) before lunch and it’s pineapple shrimp tacos for dinner.

The boys weren’t sure they wanted to bake but I knew they wouldn’t be able to resist smashing up graham crackers. Sammy was also excited to juice some limes and make line zest. Amaya was there helping from start to finish.

Steven, playing a game with remaining pieces of our backsplash.

Hours at the playground today. I love it. To be honest, tracking outdoor time has been great for us because I’m really mindful about getting outdoors.

Amaya’s got such a defined sense of style. This shirt is a little small on her but it’s comfortable so we cut under the arms to give her a little more room. This hat will definitely be a forever connection to Summer 2021 for me.

This is wheelchair accessible play equipment that Steven deemed a “boat” and promptly anointed himself boat captain. We had many rides around the world together.

It’s amazing to me that pine cones are still so interesting. They can search for and organize pine cones for a shockingly long time.

The Pineapple Shrimp Tacos were a hit. All of the kids helped prep the pineapple and salsa. Steven worked very, very hard prepping the shrimp so it could be seasoned. Amaya seasoned the shrimp, and her chicken, cooked her chicken and helped with the guacamole. It was a really nice time cooking together.

Amaya said this was the first time she cooked chicken by herself.

That’s it for us! Have a great week!

*Blog title from Amaya

It was a great, sunshine filled week here in the Land of Cheltenham – with a special bonus at the end of the week.

The kids started off the week at the lake with Penni. It seems there was some swimming and a lot of digging.

Steven had trouble sleeping on Monday night so we took the opportunity to watch some “late night” Olympics together. Really special time.

With Amaya’s hair color and all the time in the pool, she decided to try out a swim cap. Thumbs up!

Amaya has been really into crafts lately. This is another book she has from the library (or the same one from last week). She made a hand stand for jewelry. It’s super cute.

Tinfoil rings! Amaya and Penni can open an etsy shop. 🙂

Steven tells me this park was very very hot and he got very very tired. “There’s a spinny thing and, for almost the whole time, anyone who wanted to go on it I would always be pushing them.”

Amaya also crafted bunnies this week, made from old dance tights. They’re super cute! And she made a pair of overalls for one of her stuffies (named Rosie, Steven wants me to share). I love the creativity.

With Amaya’s move to level 7 swim, she and the boys have classes back to back which is very convenient.

The BIG news and adventure of the week was a visit from Nana!! She hasn’t been here since early June 2019. It’s really unthinkable to contemplate after near-monthly visits for 5.5 years. Once Nana arrived it both felt like no time had passed and also like so much time had passed.

On Friday, Penni, Nana and the kids went to the pool. They were the only kids there – lots of space to themselves! Amaya had to re-take the deep end test b/c there were new lifeguards there and she passed easily giving her lots of opportunity to jump and dive.

Steven also took off swimming on Friday!

For dinner on Friday night we headed to The Beach Tiki Bar & Boil in Walled Lake. Jason was in Chicago so it was just the 5 of us. We haven’t been here since early fall. Eating by the water also makes me happy.

Wandering on the beach while we waited for our table.

Sammy and I each ordered a pound of king crab for lunch. It was so good and, between us, we ate almost all of it.

We wrapped up the evening with some rock & shell hunting on the beach.

Bedtime shows…then bedtime!

We had a packed day on Saturday, spent at Kensington Metropark. We started off with a paddle boat ride on the lake.

It was a lot more work than I expected! Amaya was a fierce peddler, holding herself up by her arms on the seat to get enough leverage to peddle hard and fast.

Next up was the Farm Center at Kensington. It’s been ages since I was there with the kids and it brought back a ton of memories. We had lunch and then visited the animals.

The kids called this a “Sheep Cow” because of it’s face lol.

We wrapped up our day at Kensington with a visit to the beach splash pad, which also has two big water slides. Steven and Amaya loved the water slides. They went again and again. (So did I!)

While we were on the water slides, Sammy and Nana went down to the lake to skip rocks.

Sunday started with a return to Nana’s weekend Starbucks tradition with SSA. Yay!! I love this so much.

Our morning and early afternoon was spent cooking & baking – Triangle Tacos, made with filo dough, and lattice berry pie.

Constructing the pie

Word games on our phones. We all love Spelling Bee.

This afternoon we met up with MayMay, Mikey, Taco and Eden at a playground. The slide here is huge. All the kids loved it and even I had to try it.

Climbing Bobes

MayMay!!

It is so, so cute and special to see these kids play together.

Amaya and Nana practiced and shared a magic coin trick. First Amaya made the coin disappear and then she found it behind Nana’s ear!

The whole gang, plus a friend Amaya made at the playground – who’s name is Anaya! Go figure!

In this picture, Taco is wearing pants that had been Amaya’s. Eden is wearing a shirt and shorts that had been Amaya’s and the shirt actually goes back to Charlie! <3

It was a great week and a GREAT weekend. We’re all so glad that Nana is back visiting us in MI.

I’ll leave you with this vide of Steven and Lindsay singing a song they made up.

Have a great week!