Slam Ball

Whitaker's last game of Slam Ball aka Tball was yesterday. This was his first attempt at baseball and he really enjoyed it. This was also Pearson's first attempt at coaching and he seemed to be ok with it. 

Photos from Whitaker's last game. 

Strawberry Picking

Today, I took my kids and John strawberry picking. John won the award for most strawberries eaten (without putting a single strawberry in a basket). Whitaker won the award for most strawberries picked (besides myself). Mae won the award for most helpful since she carried one of the containers of strawberries out of the field for me without nary a complaint or dropping any. Great way to spend a Friday. Even better a babysitter is coming at 6 pm so Pearson and I can go to the Nationals vs. Cubs game. 

Best picker! 

Best eater as you can see from his face. 

My loves. 

My what big ears you have...

When we lived in Seattle, we would take the trip South down I5 to visit Portland and Pearson's mom quite often. We would pass this indoor water park, Great Wolf Lodge, every single time. It was a landmark for us while on the trip and Pearson or I would mention passing it with enthusiasm and jokes. After having Mae, Pearson would comment "we will be heading there for vacation before you know it." To which I would respond, "no way!" As I have learned time and again with kids I should never say "no" so emphatically about anything as things are constantly changing and evolving, including me. My perception of said water park has changed as we have known lots of parents, who we trust, respect their decisions and like, have taken their kids to Great Wolf Lodge and have loved it. So when a Groupon deal came up for it not too long ago and the kids asking every week (damn commercials and letting my kids watch too much TV) that they would like to go, against my better judgement I purchased it. I thought it would be a fun end of preschool trip if nothing else.

And I am not disappointed that I did.

First, are there, better more exciting vacations out there? You bet ya. Would I love to go to a National Park and hike and camp with my kids. But is that really feasible and "easy" with a 4 and 5 year old? Probably not as I don't think that their little legs would carry them that far hiking. Or travel around Europe? I know all this stuff is possible and plenty of people do it but I also would probably look back and think that cost a lot of money/was a ton of work and we weren't able to do X, Y, and Z because the kids are too little and wouldn't enjoy it.

Now a night at Great Wolf Lodge wouldn't be deemed a "vacation" per se but the reason why it did deliver was a few fold. First, it required no planning on our part except to pack bathing suits. We bought all our food there and they had towels for our use and the hotel was attached to the water park.  Two, we didn't even bring our phones to the pool so we were able to unplug and didn't even check them for a better part of two days. Three, the kids were the perfect age for it. They can both kinda swim so we weren't worried about them but since they are still little we had to go with them on all the big slides. Pearson made the point that if they were older/taller they would probably just dirt us then we would be sitting at a kid water park by ourselves, bored to tears. The family bonding was so nice. I feel I  haven't spent that much time together without socializing with other people with my kids or having to worry about a clean house/making dinner/doing laundry/sticking to a schedule/running errands in what feels like way too long. It was fun to enjoy the excitement of it all with them minute for minute. We were also at the water park for two days for a total of 12 hours so there was a lot of minutes! Fourth, they were pumped to be there and except for a couple of whining sessions, they were as happy as happy could be.

One of the first things that Mae said to me was, "Mom! It is better then the commercials!!!" The things that we do for our kids. More importantly, the things that our kids teach us. That you can see a whole new world through their eyes and enjoy an indoor water park like you are a kid again.

I didn't take any photos of the kids in the water. See above about leaving our phones in our room but here are a few that I was able to get.

After seeing the indoor water park for the first time! 

They give all the kids "wolf ears" at checkin. Mae wore hers religiously except when in the water.  

Lunch at the outdoor pool. 

This girl never naps but 10 minutes into the drive home, I turned around to see this. 

And this...

Bubbles

I have many posts to catchup on including Mae's last day of school, Whitaker's birthday party, Whitaker's 4 year old letter but I am going to interrupt all that to post photos of the kids and bubbles. Because WHY NOT?  I don't know what it is about bubbles but my kids seem to really enjoy them time and time again. With it being hot and definitely feeling like summer it was the perfect way to spend the last few hours of the day. 

And Mae did sidewalk chalk. 

Photo credit goes to Whitaker for this one. 

FOUR

Happy 4th Birthday Whitaker! To utter the words "where has the time gone" would be a disservice to you and your larger then life personality. I know where the time has gone and I have enjoyed every - almost every - minute of it. The past 4 years have been nonstop moving, laughs, giggles (you have the best laugh), smiles, strong willed battles, tears from accident after repeated accident, exploration and discovery, asserting your independence, sleepless nights, love, and so much, much, much more. Can't wait to see what the next year has in store for you.