This was the last break week before school starts again tomorrow! We missed the Meet the Teachers ice cream social when we were in NY so, on Friday, I popped over to the JCC to meet Miss Eugenia and Miss Bree, their teachers for the year. Miss Bree is expecting a baby in November so she’s only with us for a short time but I think Miss Eugenia will be a wonderful teacher for Steven, Sammy and Amaya this year. She’s warm and kind with a lot of experience with this age group.
Monday morning, everyone got cozy waiting for Steven’s appointment. 🙂 He gets his new orthotics tomorrow afternoon. So fast! We moved to a new company  and their service is much, much better than where we’d been prior. Far less aggravation for this mom!
Everyone took time to paint “rock” frogs that Ashley got for the kids.
The transition to beds has gone really, really well. They’re definitely ready and it helps that we have three rule followers. No one gets out of bed at night and, in the morning, when their “Ok To Wake” clocks turn green, instead of getting up they all just yell for me to tell me that the light is green, lol. We’ll work on that. Ideally, they’ll get out of bed and start getting ready for school in the morning.
Well, they mostly stay in bed. One morning I approached the boys’ room and heard Sammy saying, “Steven! You belong in your own bed!” I was able to snap this picture before Steven scrambled away.
Steven loves reading books to everyone. His delivery is so cute. “Show me where you see someone playing in the water.” Just like mommy, he asks questions during the narrative.
Friday was a trip to Tiny Town!
The excitement for the week was our family trip to Holland, MI! We went two years ago with the kids and I was really excited for the 5 of us to get away together again.
Steven and Amaya – when they weren’t fighting.
Our room! The hotel was great and our room was modern but, when I booked it, I expected we’d have three kids in travel cribs. No joy! That left us with one king size bed and a tile floor. Ooops! Fortunately I thought to pack two sleeping bags and some mats.
I’m seriously shocked that we made it through the weekend without stitches. That bathtub ledge is a toddler accident waiting to happen, especially when they’re running across the room to dive into a pile of sleeping bags.
Amaya and I were sleeping bag buddies for the weekend. <3
Everyone was up eeeeeearly on Saturday morning. Our hotel was right off the main street in downtown Holland so we were able to walk to breakfast. But, first, a little photo shoot with my fashionista.
Sammy needs longer pants! (It was cold, btw! Under 50 degrees when we left the hotel. What!?!?)
We walked over the farmers’ market after breakfast.
Try keeping 6 little hands off everything…
Jason went back to the hotel to grab our strollers and we hung out by some plants and flowers. Steven declared himself “Flower Guard” and made a point to tell all of the shoppers about his important position. It was hysterical.
That gentleman got an earful.
The Clines!!
(Side note – Amaya is only looking up because I promised her a treat if she cooperated.)
Her treat! Believe it or not, these were the kids’ first lollipops.
At naptime we tried to make it work with Amaya and Steven in the sleeping bags but those two couldn’t manage to settle down.
Next we tried all 5 of us in the bed! It made for great cuddling but, again, Steven and Amaya were all over each other.
Third time’s the charm. Amaya and I made it back to the sleeping bags and the boys settled in.
I love this photo. Fast asleep, wrapped up in each other, lit by the afternoon sunlight.
Our afternoon was spent at Holland State Park. The difference between Lake Michigan and the ocean is striking. Aside from the calmer water, it’s so clear in comparison.
We rounded out the day with dinner in the hotel restaurant. SSA got a kick out of the fake candle.
Sunday morning we went out for breakfast again and then hit up a local book store. Everyone got to pick out new books!
Our final stop of the weekend trip was this playground in a park right on the water. SSA are getting more and more adventurous.
Amaya looks like she’s having so much fun here but, according to Jason, she was actually screaming in terror.
Last second Steven decided the slide might be a little high.
And home we went! When we finally slip these car seats forward I’m really going to miss seeing Sammy’s feet up on the back of his seat. He really can get comfortable wherever he is.
The rest of the weekend was super lazy. Saturday afternoon Steven, Amaya and I went to Michael’s and came home with a craft project.
Painting small storage boxes! Heart for Amaya, rectangle for Sammy and circle for Steven.
Today was fabulously lazy all around. The boys did get back to school haircuts and Amaya got another round of blue.
While Sammy was getting his hair cut and Amaya’s dye was setting, Steven and Amaya played “baby tiger”. They took turns covering one another with the blanket and went through an elaborate bedtime routine. Then the mommy or daddy tiger would come back in and say it’s wake up time and they’d switch places. Watching them made me think of playing a game called Jack & Rudy with a long, long time childhood friend. It’s so neat that they have each other as playmates.
Last up for the week – daddy grilling in the rain!
Sammy stood at the door yelling, “BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET HURT DADDYYYYYYY!”
Amaya looked at Steven, lifted her leg and said, “These are tights.” lol She had her priorities!
And that’s it! Have a great week!