Fair warning – we had a ton of adventures in NY this week which means a ton of photos.

Monday morning was quiet at Nana and Papa’s house before the kids headed over to Aunt Sara & Uncle Dave’s for lunch while I went out to eat with my friend Rachel. The kids have loved watching Chase and Charlie play their iPad games this week.

It was a wet, rainy day so we headed to Chuck E Cheese after everyone ate. It’s a fairly expensive outing so I implied to the kids that the Chuck E Cheese in MI is only open for birthday parties. They’ve been three times in a month, though, and I think they’ve had their fill for a bit.

Rachel was a champ and helped support and corral SSA while we were there.

Steven, watching some big kids play.

Steven’s turn.

There was this cool “photo” machine that turned your picture into an illustration. The difficult part was that you had to move left to center right and vice versa. It was very frustrating for Steven. Sammy let me manhandle him into the center.

I asked Amaya to smile for a picture for Jason and this is what I got. Funny, snarky child.

I did get a real smile when I won this ball for her in the claw game.

We went to Sara & Dave’s after Chuck E Cheese and Savta joined us. We had one happy Sam Man.

This child and her dolls…

On Tuesday we headed into Manhattan for a trip to the Central Park Zoo. I’ve been to the Bronx Zoo but I don’t think I’ve ever been to the CPZ before! It was perfect weather.

It’s a small little zoo but there are some good highlights including a great sea lion feeding, a brown bear and a snow leopard. The kids also so a penguin feedging.

Checking out a brown bear.

I think the highlight of Steven’s visit was watching an employee do some tar work on the path. He’s nothing if not consistent in his interests.

Sea lions!

Posing with the “skyscrapers” behind them.

Steven, as usual, wanted a copy of the map and wanted to be sure he knew exactly where we were at all times. In fact, before we left the zoo he asked me to take him to a spot on the map that caught his eye. (It was the location of the event tent. The tent wasn’t up but Steven stood in the spot on the map to be sure he knew where it would be if there was a special event.)

A big spider web trampoline. Steven was nervous at first but sort of got the hang of it when he saw Charlie, Amaya and Sammy jumping.

Aaaaaaaaand…

jump!

While the other kids finished jumping, Steven made friends with the goats. He named the black and white one “Cow Cow” and the largest was “Big Big”.

Feeding time! Sammy was comfortable letting the goats eat from his hand. Steven preferred to put the food on the ground in front of the goat.

Nana, Papa and the kids. <3

Papa, Aunt Sara and Chase left when we finished with the zoo and Nana and I took SSA and Charlie on a promised subway ride.

Amaya and Sammy love to try to balance. Steven prefers to sit on an end seat with me by his side. He also prefers that we carry him on to the subway.

We went two stops, walked a few blocks around Times Square, and then head back for the return trip.

Watching the oncoming train with Nana (who had a tight, tight grip on that little hand.)

On the way back, Sammy got into a conversation with the woman sitting next to him. It was so sweet. He told her all about their trip to the zoo. Steven made a friend, too, but that’s just a normal Tuesday for Steven. 🙂 )

We ended our trip with ice cream and ice pops in central park.

Sammy, asleep with his friend from the zoo – Squeeze the snake.

Wednesday was another beautiful day. SSA spent more than 5 hours outside at Aunt Sara’s house and the playground. There were tea parties, swings, a picnic lunch and more ice cream.

Amaya totally got the hang of pumping her legs on the swing on this trip!

Steven watching Sara & Dave’s gardeners moving the lawn.

We don’t really have a neighborhood for ice cream trucks so this was a must when we saw it pull up behind the playground. Steven is so happy that he realized he likes ice pops since he still isn’t interested in ice cream.

We wrapped up Wednesday with an afternoon visit from Savta.

On Thursday morning SSA helped Nana with some baking before we headed to the Hall’s Pond playground around the corner from her house.

You can always count on Sammy to help until the baking or cooking is done.

Another lovely morning!

The swings at this park are all accessible swings which is great but it also means they’re too heavy for the kids to swing themselves. I convinced Sammy and Amaya to take turns pushing each other to give me a break.

Savta!

We finished the morning at Savta’s house taking care of some yard work. Everyone was (eventually) willing to pitch in and help though there was much whining for control of the lawn mower. It was the only thing Steven wanted to use.

It was a quiet afternoon at Nana and Papa’s in advance of a sleepover with Chase and Charlie.

Charlie and Sammy played War while Amaya looked at scrapbooks with Nana and picked out fancy paper for her crafts.

Sleepover time!

Nana and Papa held down the fort while I went to a late showing of Avengers Endgame (!!!) and crashed at Sara & Dave’s house.

Good morning!!

On Friday we went to see Lion King Jr. SSA didn’t follow the entire plot but definitely got the gist and had a great time.

Amaya wanted photos with all of the actors.

Steven wanted a picture so badly but couldn’t pull the trigger. “I can’t decide! Oh, I wish I could decide. I just can’t decide!”

Finally, he made the decision to take a picture as long as I was in it with him.

Can’t come to NY without a trip to the Nunley’s Carousel. This time all three Cline kids rode on horses, not just the bench. Amaya and Steven even went for the moving horses.

It was no surprise that Steven needed to talk to the attendant to find out how everything works.

SSA were very excited to stop by Uncle Dave’s parent’s house to meet their dog, Millie. Even Amaya, who’s pretty scared of dogs, pet Millie very briefly (while I held her in my arms). Sammy was in heaven.

On Saturday, our final day, we spent the day at Aunt Sara’s bookended by lots of Lego time at Nana and Papa’s house. There was one complete set with instructions that Steven and Amaya tag teamed on throughout the day. At Sara’s house, the kids were not deterred by cold weather and spent a couple of hours playing superheroes outside.

Sammy made his own fun while Steven and Amaya built.

And off we went today, back to MI. Steven said he was blue (sad) because we were leaving but yellow (happy) to see Daddy. That sounds about right!

Engrossed in The Lion King.

Steven asked to sit next to the friendly stranger on this flight.

Amaya spent a good portion of the flight working on fashions.

And we’re home to Daddy!

While I unpacked and caught up on work, Jason spent a good portion of the afternoon outside with the kids using stomp rockets at our house and, later on, riding bikes at the elementary school. It was a happy return. <3

And that’s it for our wonderful vacation week in New York! Tomorrow it’s back to routine for the Clines. Have a great week!

I’m going to jump around a bit this week and start with Thursday when I woke up to birthday surprises from my family. Jason surprised me with a new Lego set that I was coveting. Madison took the kids to pick out flowers for me and they decorated vases to hold them. <3

The day before… 🙂

When I got to work my office was all decked out with a very thoughtful theme.

Three years running, my favorite little people came to join me for a birthday lunch. <3 <3 <3

This face.

Some of my colleagues were commenting about how SSA used to be so shy and tentative in our office but now walk (run) around like they own the place.

Wrapping up a lovely day, Jason and I enjoyed a crab dinner together.

Friday morning we said our “see you laters” to Jason because it was NEW YORK day! Yay!

When Madison picked the kids up from school, Amaya said, “Let’s hit the road! Or, as they say, let’s hit the Passover road!” Sammy said, “I’m so ready to be off from school. I’m sick of getting in trouble.” lol. Though, for the record, he did earn a star on Friday and earn his next prize.

Off we go!! This trip I decided it’s time to start walking more so we transitioned from the double stroller to a single. My goal was for the kids to walk as much as possible and use the stroller to haul the four backpacks, if needed. We were semi-successful with that but, to be fair, we were all the way down at the end of the airport.

The “I’m going to make you pay for not letting me do what I want to do” sulk. When I called Amaya on her attitude later on and suggested she might not earn m&ms she told me, “Every time I was whining I was I was just pranking you!” Nice try, kiddo.

We made it to the gate with about 15 minutes to spare before boarding. Perfect timing.

Secrets! “I love you, Sammy.”

The gate agent let the kids scan their boarding passes. You can see how much they loved it on Sammy’s face.

Our original flight was scheduled to leave at 5:45pm. Shortly after 3, on the way to the airport, I got a text that our flight was delayed until 8:10pm. Luckily, I was able to very quickly move to another flight that had been delayed since 3:45pm and was scheduled to leave at 5:50pm. Perfect!

Bubbalish, sitting next to a friendly stranger (who really was very friendly).

Steven read the safety booklet for a good 20 minutes lol. He and Amaya also watched the Beauty and the Beast cartoon for the first time. Sammy started it but got a little nervous and stopped halfway through.

I take a million pictures of random things. I know. But I remember when the boys, especially Steven, were terrified of hand dryers. No big deal now!

Saturday morning, Nana dove right in to Passover prep. She had some helpers along the way.

Cousins!!

Sammy asked about Savta every 30 minutes or so until she finally arrived. Earlier in the week, Amaya said she was going to live with Elsa when she grows up. Steven is going to live with Captain America. Sammy is going to live with Savta. <3

Watching Chasey build minecraft buildings. Steven and Amaya had lots of suggestions.

Savta, holding court.

Auntie, Dod Shuki, Joe, Nicole, Eli, and Dalia came for dessert along with The Honigs (Laney and Steve) and the Lewises (Shelley, Michael, Nate, and Theo).

Seder time!

Uncle Austin and Krissie

Tasting “kid wine” aka grape juice.

We started today with a quiet morning at Nana and Papa’s house followed by a delicious brunch.

Family photo time! <3

Auntie joined us and Steven made sure she felt loved.

Papa took Charlie, Steven, Sammy and Amaya on a short nature walk.

Sharing their finds with us…

Steven didn’t want to let Auntie go and Auntie doesn’t end cuddles so, for a while, there was a good question as to whether or not Auntie was going to get to leave. (Auntie is Nana’s sister???)

Amaya spent a long time talking to Savta about Savta’s family and childhood.

By afternoon we needed to get out of the house and the weather was gorgeous so we hit up the playground at Chase & Charlie’s school.

Dinner at Aunt Sara & Uncle Dave’s! It’s getting so much easier. I remember when the kids were younger and getting them home and to bed after dinner at the Goldbergs felt like so much work. It’s not easy now, but it’s easier by a very meaningful measure. (I can say that about this entire trip. A lot of it is the kids’ age but I also think a big part is the routine of visiting. This is the 11th trip all three have made to NY and there’s a lot of familiarity in our visits.)

Swinging! Jason and I are working on getting a play set in our backyard so it was nice to see how much time the kids spent playing out back. (Though they’re all still scared to climb up to the top of the slide and come back down. Hopefully our own play set will help with that.) Amaya has even gotten the hang of pumping her leg and can truly swing on her own. Hooray!! More freedom at the playground for me! I’m guessing having our own swings will help the boys get it, too.

A little more from earlier in the week….

This month’s STEM gift from Grandma Sunshine arrived and SSA are obsessed. It’s a kit where they build variations of a marble run and, here, Amaya was crying because it just arrived and I told them it was too late to open it that night. I relented, though. It’s kind of rough on a 5 year old to show them a new gift and tell them they need to wait until the next day to play with hit.

By just a day or two later, the connections got even more elaborate.

Steven, making sure our living room measurements are correct.

Amaya’s artwork. A building on the beach is on fire. There are also 3 color monsters visiting the area.

I love how she sets up her bed with her dolls.

A few months ago, Amaya told me she wanted a necklace with pictures of her family. I told her I could get one for her but it would have to go in her prize bag to earn as a prize. This week, she picked it. Jason and I are on one side and she and her brothers are on the other.

Madison has done a great job teaching the kids to clear their plates after they eat. Now it’s time to work on washing their dishes. I’m not going to be household dish doer for the next 13 years so I want to start this early. As long as they’re using the smaller plates and bowls they can get the job done. I also ordered a step stool that’s a touch higher so they can reach the water facet more easily. It takes supervision and they need practice but we’re on our way.

Steven had a rough evening on Wednesday which resulted in him staying up later than usual and getting to watch a “late” night show with me. He even got to pet Sally! She’s coming around. Slowly. 🙂

The sweet boy didn’t even have to sleep in his own bed.

My colleagues got me a New York coloring book for my birthday and Amaya quickly appropriated the page with dresses so she could color in some “styles”. She worked on it before bed and then again before school and even had a name for each of her designs.

Finally, a super cute picture of Jason and Amaya from Wednesday night.

That’s all for this week. We’re ready for 6 more days in NY!

The weather is so crazy this month! Sunshine. SNOW. Rain. Sunshine. I can’t keep up. We’re definitely trying to make the most of nice days, though. The kids got outside for some soccer on Monday afters school.

When I left for work on Monday, Steven still had his splinter. He bravely asked Madison to try to remove it and she did! Easy peasy(ish). I definitely think this is one of those things left to someone other than “mommy”.

Tuesday afternoon I left work early and met Madison and SSA at their school for a Passover party. It’s so special that I can make it to events like this. We’re all really going to miss this school next year.

Steven, Sammy and Amaya with their center director, Ms. Shannon. She’s wonderful, and a big part of what makes the school so special.

We were among the first there which meant we had our pick of matzah toppings. Sammy and Amaya went straight for frosting. Steven was excited for jelly and berry flavored cream cheese. Everyone got chocolate chips.

After eating we decorated Afikomen bags. Sammy drew the solar system. Steven dedicated his to his family. Amaya did a fashion design.

There was an opportunity to make our own matzah but I knew the kids were doing it at school the next day so we skipped that activity and saved it for their school day.

Amaya and Madison!

SSA wrapped up the evening with yoga with Ms. Marlee. I can’t believe how far Sammy has come. He was shy and a bit reticent when we did yoga last year but he dove right in, even without Amaya and Steven by his side.

Steven was content to watch.

I had a morning meeting in downtown Northville on Wednesday so, afterward, I popped into the ceramics place to get the pieces Amaya and I made on her play date. She did her fairy entirely by herself with the exception of the eyes and mouth.

Amaya loved hers and I think the boys were happy, too. Though Sammy asked me to make him vanilla/chocolate swirl next time lol.

At bedtime… I feel like Amaya is maturing at an accelerated pace.

Dance time on Thursday.

Watching the big kids.

In the evening, Amaya was angry because one of the brothers was using something of hers. Jason was trying to explain that she wasn’t using it so it wasn’t harming her for her brother to use her toy. He used an example of me using something of his when he was away last weekend. She wasn’t having it. “You should be mad!”

Thursday was National Pet Day so I need to throw my sweet Sally some love. <3

Checking out a worm after school on Friday. No one would touch it. I love worms so I’ll have to show the kids how it’s done.

Amaya made this picture for Charlie. My favorite touch is the person in the water.

Stencils are big these days. (Though Amaya likes to pretend she didn’t use the stencil to make her art. “I saw the stencil but decided not to use it.”)

You can always count on Sammy to do his own thing. 🙂

And the kid has always known how to lounge.

Saturday was Family Day! We’re starting to outgrow our living room furniture and need a new couch. Everyone was hard at work mapping the area.

So proud of how she does her own hair.

We have three kids who are still afraid of escalators. 🙂

Right at home furniture shopping…

Smart people – giving kids colored pencils and paper so parents can shop.

Steven wandered around putting items “on his list”. “Is this for sale?”

Checking the floor plans for accuracy.

Family lunch! Food courts will always remind me of the early days with huge strollers, or that wagon, and all the stuff we had to travel around with. Life is getting much easier.

Pick-a-brick at the lego store. They picked their bricks totally true to type. Steven was methodical and analyzed every piece. Amaya moved through with precision but speed. Sammy grabbed handfuls of anything that looked cool.

This face!! I can’t wait for our upcoming trip to Disneyland!

We rounded out our day with a trip to Kids Gotta Play to look at play sets. It’s time! Now we just need to make a final decision, level some grass and get going. (This is going to be a gross motor growth opportunity for our trio who readily climb up but, like sweet little cats, are afraid to come down.)

Ready for spring in his new Fluttershy t-shirt.

During FaceTime at bedtime, Steven wrote this message for Nana (“Steven is sad”) and told her that he could change it to “Steven is happy” if Aunt Sara was also available on FaceTime.

Sweet, sweet boy. He said, “Can you believe my name was named after your daddy? My name is almost the same as Poppy Steven’s except he also has ‘Poppy’ in his name and I don’t.” When I kissed him he said, “Did you kiss me because I told you about Poppy Steven?” He just knows.

This morning the kids asked me to play some game where some of us were good dinosaurs and bad dinosaurs and I was a bad turtle. To get into character I taped a pillow to my back and, almost immediately, Steven decided he needed to be a turtle, too. And that we should take pictures. <3 Photo credit to Amaya for the first and Sammy for the second.

Today was Steven’s big play date with his friend Ethen. Ethen and his mom just moved to MI in January and he and Steven took to each other immediately. We met up for brunch and then Ethen and his mom came back to our house.

Sammy and Amaya were eating lunch when we got back and Sammy got very uncomfortable with the idea of being downstairs in his pajamas. He went upstairs where Jason let him finish his lunch and settle a bit. Eventually he warmed up and came down, PJs and all.

Play time!

As previously promised to Sammy, he and I had game time – just us – today. One on one time definitely matters to the kids. So does a sense of fairness in their time with their parents.

Amaya got a turn, too. This is her “Eeeek! It might fall soon” face.

And this is her cry of victory over her poor mommy.

A few years ago, November 2016 I think, there was a sale on some co-op mask and cape sets for PJ Masks. We didn’t watch the show at the time but it’s two boys and a girl and the girl’s name is Amaya! I got the sets in case SSA ever got into the show. They’re starting to watch now and, amazingly, I knew exactly where I was storing these.

<3 <3

Sammy is my kitchen helper. For years, he’s been the one who wants to be self-sufficient in the kitchen and help out in the kitchen. Tonight he made our Caesar salad and then had a blast doing the dishes.

“When you see how I straightened up my room you’ll be so impressed!” “I did the bed myself!”

I need to go put Steven to bed in his beautifully organized room. He wants to sleep on his “picnic blanket” and have me put him in bed after he falls asleep so we’ll see how that goes.

I leave you with one last picture of sweet Sal from just moments ago.

Have a great week!

On Monday morning I got a call at 7:15am as I was contemplating getting up and waiting for Madison to arrive at 7:30am. Madison’s car had trouble and she was stuck on the side of the highway. Jason was already on his way to an 8am meeting. The kids hadn’t eaten. Sammy wasn’t dressed. School is about 30 minutes away. I had a 9am meeting with my boss. ACK!

Steven, Sammy and Amaya rallied for me! I think they were excited about the change in routine. I let them eat breakfast – Mommy Yogurts – in the bathroom while I showered & got ready and then they got to eat a 2nd Mommy Yogurt each while we drove to school. (Mommy Yogurts have more sugar than their yogurt lol.)

We were out the door in about 30 minutes and I called the school on my way hoping they’d be staffed to let me drop the kids off early. They were! And I made it to work at about the same time I normally do. Amazing.

One casualty of the morning was Amaya’s hair. 🙂 She was rocking her rolled-out-of-bed look along with this special outfit she picked out.

Madison took the day off and I had an afternoon meeting I couldn’t miss so Jason took the afternoon off. Sammy was complaining of an ear ache so Jason took the kids to the doctor to get him checked out. Sammy was fine but had a strep test to show for his trouble.

Post-strep test treat!

Madison was back on Tuesday and it was nice enough for the kids to get outside for a little while. Sammy loved this huuuuuuuge stick.

Tuesday, after Amaya’s shower, Madison prepped her hair for t-shirt curls. I was so curious to see how it would turn out.

Holy cow! Amaya didn’t even look like herself with these curls. I can’t believe how curly her hair was and what a difference it made in her appearance. She absolutely loved it.

I love this picture. I really can’t believe how old SSA are getting. I see pictures like this and I can so clearly see 10 year old Amaya.

Jason and I both had time for after-work cuddles with the kids on Tuesday night.

“Mommy – do pictures with funny things on our faces.”

Sammy has almost outgrown his latest W For Wookie shirt. I think this is his 3rd one and I just ordered his fouth – in the largest size available. I love the consistency of Sammy having this shirt (and Steven with is R2D2 shirt) across the years.

SSA are studying space at school, which had led to lots of conversations about outer space and the universe. At bedtime on Thursday, Steven was so sad that it was still light out and he couldn’t see the stars. I knew it was going to be too cloudy, even after dark, but I let him stay up a little bit later than usual and we went outside to see what we could see. Even though it was too cloudy to see stars, the opportunity to put on his shoes and coat and go outside after bedtime was so exciting. I can remember moments like that from when I was a kid (watching a lunar eclipse with my mom) and it’s fun to get to do the same thing with my own kids.

After Steven goes to bed at night, he always asks me to come check on him in shalosh minutes. (That’s “three” in Hebrew.) This week he asked me how to say “minutes” in Hebrew. I wasn’t sure so I looked it up and told him that it’s “dah-kah”. Steven corrected me said, “No, I think it’s ‘dah-coat'”. Sure enough, he was right. I was using the singular “minute” and he remembered the plural from when Nana came to visit. He really does have a spectacular memory.

On Friday morning, the kids said goodbye to Jason before he left for work because, that evening, Jason was starting the drive to Minneapolis for the Final Four!

We had a quiet Friday night. Cuddles, bedtime and tv time for me.

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“Are you going to send this picture to Daddy?”

Amaya came in to wake up up on Saturday, already dressed and with this new “style” for her hair. 🙂

Sammy wanted to try it, too.

We spent the early part of the day playing games. Steven is getting pretty good at memory. Sammy doesn’t pay enough attention (yet) to find matches besides by accident. Scrabble is a pretty long game but Steven and Amaya made it about halfway through together.

Steven and Sammy playing My Little Pony Guess Who?

Haircuts for The Brothers! This was Sammy’s first salon cut in about 3 years. He was nervous but realized pretty quickly that there was nothing to be afraid of. As you can see, Amaya wore her new style out.

Nothing like TV to keep these three focused and patient.

Sammy explaining “flash bees”. (Creatures from MLP.)

A happy kid talking to his Savta!

The weather was gorgeous yesterday! It was in the high 60s and sunny. Like, what seemed like most of our neighbors, we headed to the “wooden playground”. Steven, Sammy and Amaya can play so much more independently this year. It’s awesome. The only challenge at this particular playground is that the swings are set so high the kids can’t get on them by themselves. But, Amaya has learned to pump her legs on the swing! My announcement that I wasn’t going to stand and push them for an hour was probably good motivation.

Sammy got lots of compliments on his shirt!

A splinter finally sent us home. 🙁 On the way to the playground we happened to have been talking about the time Steven got a splinter in NY. I think it was 2.5 yrs ago but of course he remembers. In this picture he was explaining that, if a manticore got a splinter, you’d hear it roaring all through the playground.

24 hours later and the splinter is still stuck. We’ve got a baking soda paste working it’s magic under some band-aids. Fingers crossed we can get this sucker out without too much effort.

We had big evening plans so I convinced the kids to try to nap for an hour so they could stay up late. Amaya and Steven went to bed with no issue. Sammy fought me on it until I told him that he didn’t have to sleep – he could just hang out in his bed with puppy. Of course he fell asleep. 🙂

After naps we played outside for a while and then headed to dinner reservations at Garage. SSA were great. It’s so nice to be able to take them out for dinner and really enjoy our time together instead of just manage the process of being out with all of them.

Amaya and Steven played tic-tac-toe. Big kids!

Sammy ate his entire meal and I had to order a second set of burgers for him!

Our big evening adventure was a sleepover in our master bedroom! At first I thought I’d share the king with all three kids but realized quickly that no one would get good sleep. I was able to convince the kids to split up between the master bed, an air mattress and a huge bean bag. Steven even brought in his own bean bag for his “aminals”. All three of them brought most of the contents of their own beds for the night. (And, for what it’s worth, they were clear with me that it wasn’t really a sleepover because they were in their own house.)

We watched the end of the Auburn/Virginia game. (Sammy: This is the longest half a second ever!) Then we watched one episode of the new season of MLP and a bit of the Sparty game. Everyone but Sammy was scorin’ for the Spartys.

Steven bought the telescope out again, once he noticed it was dark. It was a clear night so I took the kids outside, one by one, to look at the stars. I realized this was a first for them! In the winter, when it’s dark early, we don’t go outside at night. In the summer, it’s light out for too long. I don’t think they’ve ever had a chance to stargaze!

Steven went first and was curious to know how we know if it’s a star or a planet.

Sammy was completely taken.

“Can you believe how beautiful and bright the stars are? They light the night.” “I see some lights that aren’t glowing as brightly so I know they’re planets.” “The sun is the main star but we can’t see it when it’s nighttime.” “Did you have any idea the stars are so beautiful and twinkly?”

It was pretty amazing to share that wonder with him.

Amaya told me the stars were “amazing” and then asked if we could sing Twinkle Twinkle to them. So we did.

We had a long, quiet day at home before a dinnertime birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. The kids spent a good amount of time playing in the backyard.

Sammy collected his weight in rocks. When he came in, we went through an exercise where we each said whether or not we liked the rock. If we both liked it, we put it in one square on the table. If we both didn’t like it, we put it in another square. If we were split, we put the rock on a “line” between the squares. He was totally into it which managed to hold my attention while we looked at at least 50 different rocks. 🙂

We rounded out our weekend with a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. After the party two weeks ago, the kids were so excited! Wow, it’s loud there. But I can see exactly whey the kids like it so much. Endless games for two hours plus pizza, punch, cake and prizes. What’s not to like!?!?

Steven wanted me closes by to collect his tickets.
Sammy wanted to check in now and then.
Amaya wanted to pretend I wasn’t there.

Steven was super cute playing air hockey with other kids, often ones he didn’t even know. He’ll talk to anyone!

I’d come upon Amaya just doing her own thing. She wasn’t interested in playing with her school friends, either. She just wanted to play the games.

She doesn’t even know I’m there.

So many tickets! I thought Steven was going to end up with the least but he wound up winning more than double both Sammy and Amaya. Now sure how he pulled that off!

Sammy was focused. He had the games he liked and was set on earning tickets. He was the only one who wanted to know who collected the most.

Steven was excited to sit next to his friend Ethen.

Everyone was so funny with Chuck E! Sammy ran right up to him.

See Steven sneaking into a picture?

I did not try very hard before I left the house. No one cared, especially not my children.

They had a blast!

Now everyone is in bed and Jason is nearing the end of his long road trip home to us. <3

Some artwork from this week…

The kids drew photos of their best friends.

Amaya picked Ms. Bri.

Steven picked Ethan.

Sammy picked Madison. (It’s interesting. Sammy is hardest on Madison but he also has these times when he clearly demonstrates that he cares about her.)

Amaya put together a “photo book” Inside are all sorts of ladies in fashions. Amaya will tell you that she only likes things that are fashionable.

Here’s an example of Fashions by Amaya

Steven saw Amaya’s Photo Book and decided to make a book of his own. This boy has such love for his family. <3

Showing his family book to Daddy

Last but not least – photos from Jason’s adventure to Minneapolis!

That’s it for this week. Have a good one!