Cedar Point Trip, 2014

We took Joshua to Cedar Point this weekend with a couple of our friends. It's his second trip, the first when he was three. He had a lot more fun this time, despite being freshly recovered from a sick bug. Look at how much he's grown!

(3 Years Old)

(5 Years Old)

They had their automated dinosaur event still going. It was exciting because, at three, Joshua was terrified and he refused to take a photo like this one:

It was his first Ferris wheel ride as well. Last time we went, we'd gotten to the very front of the line when it started to thunder and the wheel was shut down. He was so nervous on the wheel while it was being loaded, but he had a lot of fun when it started going. At the end, he didn't want to get off, though that may have been more of not wanting to go home, since it was the last thing we did.

He's asking when we can go back again. It's a bit expensive, to be honest, for a five year old and a Mama who doesn't ride the big rides (Daddy did the first trip, but hung out with us for this one). We've been lucky to go on discounted tickets so far, and hope to keep that up. Next time, though, Sebastian will be old enough to go along. I think I'll need more help, particularly if Kris wants to ride some rides again. Lol.

<3

Google's Take Your Child to Work Day

I was going to write this last night so it could post early for everyone, but we had our first puppy meeting last night and blogging got lost in the celebration of our first puppy finding her new home. :D

So, a morning put-together it is.

Last week Thursday was Take Your Child to Work Day. Kristoffer works at Google, and the whole family was invited to the activities. It was so much fun and I have a bunch of pictures to show you, too (they're all in small form in the hope I don't overload your browser). :D

The first surprise came a few days before when the boys got their t-shirts. It's an Eric Carle Google Doodle!

   

We kept them a secret from the boys until the day of. When we got there, we hung out at Daddy's work space for a bit, then we were able go to get the boys' work badges for the day and start the fun.

Which was lunch. Mmm, Google lunch, making all Google spouses jealous every day.

  

Then off to the activities room for face painting, balloon animals or swords, crafts including a bowl painted for Action Against Hunger, and a by-request YouTube video wall, for which Joshua chose the Mama Mia song clip from that same-name movie. They even got to plant seeds for Earth Week.

There was also a scavenger hunt at the end, but we didn't end up participating because we needed a badge wielder and Daddy had to finish some work.

In the end, we still came away with some amazing crafts Joshua (mostly) made himself.

And believe it or not, that wasn't all. The boys also got goodie bags. And when we came home, they had even more to play with.

All in all, it was a fantastic day. The boys had a lot of fun and I enjoyed every minute of it. We feel so lucky to be part of the Google family and to be able to take part in events like this.

Thank you, Google!!

Family Fun: Sebastian's 1st Birthday

The Collaboration Challenge is on pause for the moment. I'll update you when I know more.

I had such a busy fun weekend! And I have pictures. Lots of baby-eating-cake pictures. (So sorry if this page takes forever to load.)

The party was so much fun. We had a good showing. I had Joshua (Big Brother) help open the presents while Sebastian played with the bags and boxes and tissue paper. As the toys were unwrapped, I passed them out to the kiddos watching and gave permission to take them out of the packages. Great for a couple reasons. 1) Kiddos don't get too jealous while watching the present opening. 2) Other parents open all the cardboard and twist ties and other crap for me! Win Win!

Then, there's the cake. We had Thomas the Train cakes (there's a photo somewhere, but not on my phone). A big cake for everyone else with Thomas from the store, then a little cake they copied the frosting on and I put one of Joshua's trains (Percy, if you know the show) on the little one for Sebastian. He got the little cake and dug right in while the rest of us enjoyed the untouched bigger cake.

Here Are the Photos!

I do not have before and after pics of the kitchen yet, simply because 'after' is not finished. Per typical DIY projects, this one had more issues than expected, is taking more materials than expected, and therefore will take more time than expected. But we're hoping to be done by this weekend, so pictures are still coming. Everyone at the party loved the progress, though, so it makes me all the more excited to finish it.

Family Fun: Christmas At Grandma's

We had a field trip planned for this last weekend, but it was outdoors and the sky was spitting at us, so we weren't able to go. We did have family Christmas at my maternal Grandmother's house yesterday and I have a ton of photos.

So many photos were taken by everyone. There were a lot of differences this year, sparked by a death in the family this past summer. Though we don't all get along (we're a big family, after all), there was a bigger effort to have more fun, to engage rather than disengage, and it turned out to be one of the best Christmases.

I only have our photos right now (and am only sharing 2), but I hope people can get around to sharing them. It is a busy time of year and by the time we have time, we have usually forgotten.

Has anyone else started celebrating their holidays with extended family yet?

          

Family Fun: Swimming Class

Since Joshua turned three, I've been interested in getting him active and in activities where there would be other kids. First kids might as well be only children, and I'm very adamant he is well socialized.

So, it was swimming locally during the summer, then soccer in the fall. We turned to the Y for a winter idea and found swimming again. It fit into our schedule, was held on Saturdays so Kris could participate, and is an indoor pool where the one in town isn't. My sister was able to sign up my four year old nephew, so he comes with us as well.

The biggest plus? They had a class for Sebastian's age, too. Kris is the lucky one that gets to be down in the pool with Sebastian, then watching the boys. I keep myself up in the observation room with whichever kid(s) aren't swimming.

Because of that, I wasn't able to get the best of photos and they are only of Sebastian's class. As his class is first, I quickly learned photo taking wasn't going to work with the faster moving, bigger boys. They are, however, still pretty cute.

                 

Family Fun: Halloween

If you have me circled on G+, or are a friend on Facebook, you may have already seen this photo of me and my Trick Or Treat Gang.

Joshua's the blurred boy (you may have seen his costume in my zoo post). The mouse is Joshua's girlfriend (well, best friend who is a girl). The vampire is and the lizard-thing are my nephews. The girl hiding her face is my niece, and it's a shame you couldn't see her make up. She was dolled up to be a doll, but her dress hadn't arrived yet, so she was upset. Thankfully, it came later and she was still able to go candy hunting.

And yes. I am Super Girl. Because she's amazing, and so am I. ;-)

We had lots of fun, walking the neighborhood, then we had a last minute mini-party at my house for the kids since the weather wasn't great while the grown-ups warmed up and had some food. All planned hours before it happened. Kris and I are exhausted. Apparently, so is Joshua. Yesterday, his nap was more than 2 hours long. Yipes.

How did your Halloween go? If you have picks of your party or Trick Or Treat Gang up on your blog, post me a link in the comments.