Nebraska Adventures Part 3: Simple Fun

There were 2 things we took on our trip that the twins were dying to wear as soon as possible.  The first were their new TaeKwon Do uniforms.

 We got them 2 days before we left, and I quickly sewed on their patches to make them look ultra-official.

 They couldn't wait to show off their uniforms and some of their moves.  Unfortunately, that wore off by Texas and Lala (who gave them the birthday money that purchased the uniforms) didn't get to see them :(

The other was their brand new swimsuits.  We had no plans to swim before getting to Texas, but mom and I set up the sprinkler (with the help of a phone call to my dad...seriously how many people does it take to get a sprinkler going?  One.  My dad.).

Because I missed my dad's instructions to turn the nozzles up, the water didn't hit them above knee-level.  So they sat down.

Hooray for simple fun!

Nebraska Adventures Part 2: Papa's Work

Something that is part of every trip to Nebraska is a trip to the town where I grew up.  Not only do I have a lot of family there that I want to see, but it is also where my dad works (and the twins love seeing Papa's Work).  Now, I intended to get pictures with my cousins (especially the cousins who graduated), and my aunt...but somehow it didn't happen.  I did get a picture of the twins with my grandparents (Nebraska Grandpa and Grandma as they are affectionately called).  My favorite thing was that, on the way over, Ryan told me all about the things he couldn't wait to see at their house - remembering in incredible detail the toys, the house, and the grandparents.It shouldn't shock me - they have memories of steel - but it still makes me happy when they remember people I love :)

The last thing we did was visit Papa's work - the first time in the new building!

They got to help Uncle Matt work the parts counter

and visit the shop and lofted storage area with Papa

A bird's eye view of the shop

They got to sit in and pretend to drive a bunch of the vehicles ("constructions" as Allie called them - since they look similar).

some references for the size of some of the vehicles into which they climbed:

They weren't able to get into some of the sprayers (because they were being either fixed or torn apart), but Papa and Uncle Matt helped them peek inside.

And, to top it all off, Papa and Uncle Matt took them for a ride on the golf cart.

I told my dad that, if we lived closer, I would totally bring the moms' group to his work.  The chance to climb into big vehicles is always super cool!

Nebraska Adventures Part 1: Mother's Day

We were able to be a part of many wonderful events in Nebraska - my twin cousins' graduation and both my brother's and my mother's birthdays.  But I didn't get any pictures of those.  Not a single one.  FAIL.  So I will attempt to chronicle the events I DID get pictures of...the first being Mother's Day.

Have I mentioned I'm not a fan?  I think it all started during the years of really wanting (and trying) to be a mother.  In fact, one year it was the Monday after Mother's Day that I was scheduled to do the blood test to find out if the latest IVF was successful.  I spent the whole day wondering, "Am I?" only to be very disappointed the next day.  Ultimately, it set me up for too many expectations of how wonderful Mother's Day would be.  My first Mother's Day the twins slept less, the night before, than they have any other night in their lives thus far...and then pooped on me.  My second Mother's Day they both got a stomach bug and I spent the entire day cleaning up vomit and doing laundry.  My third Mother's Day I cancelled.  Did I mention that, because Mother's Day is on a Sunday, it is never the day of pampering I was promised (even without sleep deprivation, poo, and vomit)?  See, Sunday for a Pastor's wife is the busiest day of the week.  He leaves earlier in the morning than any other day (no sleeping in or breakfast in bed), you are solely responsible for getting yourself and your children dressed and out the door for church (extra pressure on Mother's Day when you feel pressured to look the perfect Mother/children), keeping everyone quiet during the service (no nursery on Mother's Day because all the workers want to enjoy church with their mothers), and getting everyone back home for lunch and down for naps (after which, once the house is silent and calm once again, your husband comes home).  And when I realized that, even if the streak of extreme Mother's Days didn't continue, I would eventually feel bitter that I didn't get the pampering I was promised because of the church (something I certainly did NOT want to feel), I cancelled it.  I don't feel bitter on any other Sunday of the year, so I told Lucas that, as far as I was concerned, it wasn't Mother's Day.  We would take a family trip to the zoo later in the week (and we did, and it was wonderful!).  

My husband is amazing, and does things all the time to let me know how much he appreciates me.  Every day my children give me hugs and kisses and tokens of affection (flowers picked from outside for example) and tell me I'm the best mommy, and they love me, and I'm their best friend, and so on.  I enjoy those so much more than this one day every year set aside with so much pressure.

This year, though, I got to be with my mom.  Perfection.

My mom is amazing.  Outwardly she is short and silly and soft-hearted.  She loves chocolate and chick-flicks and more chocolate.  But she loves being a mom more than anything, and it shows.  I think she did an amazing job with my brothers and I.  Even though, when I was younger,  I said a million times that I would never parent my children the way she parented me (you know, not letting me have my own phone and phone number, or making me call when I got somewhere, or making me do chores - the really terrible things when you are young), I want to be just like her now.  And I want my children to turn out just as well.  Seriously, my bothers and I are amazing people.  Humble too.  The point is, now that I'm a mom, I have total respect for my mom and all of the things she did for us as kids.  I see now how much of the person I am today is from how much of an amazing mom I had...and have.  Getting to spend the day with her was wonderful.

Too bad I didn't get a picture of it...

Road Trip

When the twins were tiny babies I followed a twin blog where the mom chronicled the many daily adventures she went on with her twins (2 1/2 at the time) - educational, exploring their community, and all over the country.  I remember that she blogged about her long road trip (2 month, I believe) with her 2 1/2 year old twins.  Her husband (who worked) would meet up with them whenever he could, but for the most part she and the kiddos went on a grand adventure, through several states, seeing everything they could see.  It sounded a little crazy, but it also sounded like a lot of fun...

So it didn't sound crazy to me to take a road trip from Michigan to Nebraska (on the way to Texas) with the twins...alone.  It was doable.  It would be an adventure!  Granted, there are 2 things that I have going for me that I would suggest might make this less intimidating to me: 1) I LIKE road trips.  I really enjoy them.  Not everyone does.  2) We have taken a LOT of long road trips with the twins.  Like this, or this, and this, or this, or...well...you get the picture.  Long drives are nothing new, and the kids - unless sick - travel really well.  Even then, the night before I started to get really nervous.

I shouldn't have.  It went great!  We stopped in Iowa, so the first day was about 7 hours of driving time (it took us about 9 hours to get there) and the second day was about 6 hours of driving time (it took us almost 9 again).  I did have a few tricks up my sleeve.  The first was our "Road Trip Rules," which I told the twins was a must for every road trip.  The rules?  1) We all go to the bathroom every time we stop.  No exceptions.  2) Mommy can't reach things while driving so hold onto your stuff!  If you drop it, no freak outs.  We will get it at our next stop.  3) We don't do things that bother other people in the van.  If they don't like it, it stops, no questions, no exceptions.  Quite frankly, simply saying "Road Trip Rules!" stopped a lot of potential freak outs.  The second was a giant bag full of smaller bags - each packed with a snack, a special treat, and entertaining items for the road (books, toys, crayons and paper, etc.)  At each stop I gave them a new bag...and since we stopped a lot this meant a lot of fresh entertainment.  In fact, did I mention they didn't watch a single movie?  I brought along the laptop and their dvd's, but since I couldn't monitor it unless the van was stopped I was hesitant to even put any on.  Thankfully, I didn't have to!
With some of their special surprises:

The first day was a breeze!  It was delightful.  There wasn't a single tantrum or freak out.  The twins were so excited about everything.  It was wonderful.  We were lucky that every time someone needed a potty break we had an amazing stop right there (like a rest area with a playground)!  We also made a point to stop at state welcome centers.  Partly because I've discovered the bathrooms tend to be cleaner, partly because they have all kinds of brochures and I knew the twins would enjoy picking some up.  On this trip we discovered that many of these welcome centers have coloring books they will give to little kids!  The twins have been enjoying coloring in their Iowa and Nebraska books :)
Our Iowa coloring books!

We stayed the night in Iowa, which was wonderful.  I love sneaking in visits (no matter how short) with people I don't get to see often.  The twins got to play with my aunt and uncle, and my cousin's kids, while I got to enjoy catching up with people I love.  So wonderful.
Playing with Aunt Jan

The second day was a little more rough.  Partly because - due to the different time zone - they were a little short on sleep (Allie told me she was "So, so tired.").  Partly because we left Bumble (remember him?  Ryan's favorite stuffed animal/best friend/bedtime necessity), and didn't realize until we were already an hour down the road...  So there was a good hour of driving where Ryan cried over and over, "I just want my Bumble!" and I cried as I drove on - further from Bumble - because I felt so terrible.  Then I decided to stop for lunch (I packed lunches the day before) at a McDonalds with a playplace.  These have been inconsistent for us in the past - some are really designed more for early elementary aged kids than preschoolers - but I took a gamble.  Long story short, both kids got stuck in the very top (at different times) requiring me to climb up twice, the food wasn't yummy, and Ryan flushed the toilet when it was Allie's turn and she had a complete (overtired) meltdown that required me to hold her for a while in the parking lot until she calmed down.  I started to panic a little about losing time and needing to get on the road, and then I thought, "This trip is for them.  If she needs me to hold her until she calms down, I will."  So I did.  The stop ended up being an hour and a half long...but that was ok.  Oh, and did I mention that every time the twins needed to go potty we were in a desolate area with no facilities.  Thank goodness for the travel potties we keep in the van.  We used them 3 times because there was no other option!  The final time stealer?  Construction in Nebraska.  The last 2 hours took much longer because we were slowed down and sometimes stopped.  But we made it!  And the twins thought the trip was a great adventure!  And even the rough second day wasn't actually that rough.  In fact, I didn't feel stressed at all when we got there.  Just relieved to have reached our destination :)

All of the rest of the road trip I had help lined up, so this is the end of the adventures of just us three.  I'm thankful I didn't chicken out.  It was a wonderful time of talking with the kids, experiencing new things with them, hearing what they were excited to see, and teaching them about these things.  They might not remember our great road trip, but I always will - fondly.

April Showers

What else would one do, on the last day of April, but play in the puddles of an April shower?

The twins recently acquired rain gear.  The boots they have had forever (I made a mental note to catch the fall sales last year and got them for a great price, but it meant the twins have been looking at them and begging to wear them ALL winter).  The coats, however, are new.  And the twins have been itching to wear them in real rain. 

 There have been a couple of acceptable rains (i.e. no lightning), but I felt it was still too cold.  Tonight, however, I knew that we were going to go straight inside to a warm shower (and that I had an empty washing machine in which we could throw their wet clothes as we passed by).  So I let them splash - while I stood in the street, under an umbrella, taking pictures.

 Now, the twins are NEVER allowed this close to the street (we have a line in the driveway they are not allowed to cross), so they were hesitant...and hopeful, since the end of the driveway had the big puddles.  I told them this was a special occasion, and that I would allow them that close to get to the big puddles only because I was standing in the street to make sure they would be safe (our street is not busy).  This forbidden treat definitely pushed the experience up a bit on the adventure scale.

 My 2 disappointments are that 1) the hood on Ryan's coat is WAY too small...like infant small, and it makes his coat ride up and doesn't cover his head.  The thing that frustrates me the most about this was that I saw the most adorable Cars rain hats at Wal Mart the other day and thought, "Ryan would love that, but I can't justify buying it when he can just put up the hood on his coat."  Grr....  2) I had my camera on the complete wrong setting.  I couldn't figure out why the pictures were turning out over-exposed, but in all the fun never thought to check all my settings... 

 My disappointments in no way detracted from the fun.

They splashed and ran and jumped and laughed until they were soaked clear through.  And then I announced it was time to head in...after one last jump...

My favorite quote from the evening?

Allie: "The rain tickles me and makes me grow - just like a flower."

Adventures in Art

I mentioned in the previous post that we had another adventure in the afternoon. I started a project with the twins that had been bouncing around in my brain for a while. Actually, since this post almost a year and a half ago! Lucas had let the twins color on the wall because he didn't want to squash their artistic expression, and while I wasn't thrilled that their art was all over my walls, floor, and even a few doors it sort of stuck with me. Suddenly I remembered this hallway/stairway at the school where I went for most of my elementary years. Every year, the seniors (in art class? I'm not sure the qualification) got to collectively paint a mural. Because it was in the high school portion of the school, and therefor a place we rarely traveled, it seemed an exotic and magical place. I remember catching glimpses of seniors painting, looking at every detail, and dreaming about the day when I would get to paint on the wall. Of course, I was at a different school by the time I was a senior, so that never happened. But there has always been a secret desire in me to paint on walls.

So I looked at the walls in the basement, a good portion in the main room being cement (which we would probably never hang any artwork on anyways). And I thought about how a simple coat of paint would make the room neutral once again should we ever want to sell. And I thought about how much my children (and I!) would enjoy painting on the wall. And I started to plan.

The last few months I started to really have a desire to put the plan into motion. To just let them paint. So, I've been on the lookout for inexpensive paint to start our project. A fortuitous trip to Lowe's and a stop at their discount paint provided the perfect start. A quart of paint in a beautiful blue. Even better? It was the special (expensive) No VOC, paint and it was only $3! I bought it, and then I got the twins ready to paint as soon as we were home. They were as excited as I was!

The beginning of our mural. 2 very different styles.

Soon they began to spread out and fill the white space.

Allie decided 1 brush wasn't enough to paint everything she wanted to paint.

Soon after, she decided that she needed to be more "hands on" with her artwork.

Ryan thought that was brilliant and joined in.

And it wasn't long before they were painting more of themselves than the wall...at which point I called it quits!

I love it. I really do. They are so excited about their artwork and showing it off. I love finally having color on the wall. Lucas wants us to add to the "mural" as well. And I found more paint in our furnace room for us to add more colors and layers soon! I, of course, had a talk with them before and after about how we don't paint on any other walls (unless I say...because I have other walls in mind...), and hopefully that sticks. But I feel happy to have provided them with the opportunity to live out my childhood artistic dream :)

Spontaneous Adventures

I broke my glasses the other day. Well, I didn't really break them. They pretty much just randomly fell apart. That's what I get for choosing cheap glasses... The good news is I have vision coverage, and I found a great new eye doctor, and I got new glasses that are uber-durable. They came in the other day, and so Lucas and I planned a morning trip to pick them up. We figured we would make it an adventure and take the kids to McDonalds (to play on their favorite playplace). Then, as we were getting ready to leave we thought it might be a nice day to visit the zoo. So we decided to extend our adventure. Then we thought it might be nice to meet up with someone. So we sent a few texts and our friends ended up being able to meet us there!

L watching the lemurs.

We watched these tigers as tiny cubs on webcam! They were excited to see them in person.

Look, mom! He's sleeping!

The zoo was busy (lots of Earth Day field trips), so we sort of went wherever the crowds were not. We really love this zoo because it is so easy to see all (or most) of it in a morning, and have a relaxing time doing so. They also have recently built and are in the process of adding new exhibits.

A new addition since our last trip - the black rhino!

Their peacocks are always wandering around. I seem to have startled this one while trying to pass it on the sidewalk (I think it might have been my blue coat - he thought I was one of them?). The result was a gorgeous display, but he was clearly ticked. This was made worse by the fact that there were tons of school children nearby who had no clue they should stay away and were petting his outstretched feathers...

He stood in my way on the sidewalk (guarding his territory from me, I assume), and I was blocked by a wall of excited kids and adults on the other, so I got separated from our group. Here is a picture of the twins (watching the peacock from a safe distance) through his feathers as I (unsuccessfully) tried to sneak by.

I finally escaped. The peacock settled down. And we went on our way.

Checking out the ostrich.

Notice how they are holding hands? It was tricky to stay on the ledge, so Allie got up and got steady and then helped Ryan up shouting, "We will work together!" Too bad the otters weren't in the display after all that teamwork...

Watching the resting arctic foxes.

We left the zoo and went to our friend's house (they live about 5 minutes from the zoo) for lunch. It was such a fun morning, and, as we were heading home, Allie dubbed our time "The Morning of 3 Adventures." McDonalds, the Zoo, and a visit to our friend's house. We ended up having another spontaneous adventure after getting home, but that is a story for another time. Hooray for spontaneous adventures and friends that join us for them!