Thanks to the 4th of July holiday, the whole family had Friday the 3rd together. (Most schools and businesses were closed.) We wanted to make the most of our long weekend. We planned small outings and activities for each day. Come Monday morning, we were all exhausted. But if you don't get out there and do things, you won't have a summer to remember.
On Friday, Matt wanted to get some garden work done. And I felt like walking. So I invited the little boys on an adventure through the neighborhood up to the complex.
We meandered and explored for more than two hours.
We first stopped at the Children's Place where they were having a $3.99 sale, and I got the boys some tank tops and t-shirts.
Then we went to the library.
I envisioned Sage walking through the aisles putting books in a basket to check out and take home.
That didn't event remotely happen. He looked at one book. Then found way better stuff to do.
Like jump on furniture...
Do puzzles.
Climb on sensory tables.
And of course....the beloved ipad...
(Which has become the most coveted item in our house. It has a hold over my toddler like nothing else I've ever seen before. We have to hide it.)
And more climbing....
By this point in the morning, we had worked up quite the appetite. Good thing Panera was right next door!
We has a small amount of down time before we headed to the next activity.
A splash park!
A small one...but really just the perfect size to keep a close watch on your children. I envisioned lounging in a lawn chair and watching Sage frolic through the fountains.
Once again, that didn't happen. His non-stop climbing required that one of us be within arm's reach at all times.
Additionally, he claimed ownership of the "bath rock," which was the popular spot for all the kids.
So I had to gently remind him about sharing...
King of the mountain! He got a spot at the top, and he wasn't coming down.
He was able to talk this little girl into fetching his Hot Wheel cars for him. It became a game. He dropped them in the pool, she'd fish them out. I suppose she was enjoying herself.... But Sage certainly had the upper hand.
We tried to put Kale along side some the bubblers. He didn't want a thing to do with them.
Upon our return home, we had a major bathroom milestone. The boys' first bath together!
End Friday. Begin Saturday.
The 4th of July!!
We started with a parade in Old Town. It was small and amateur, but that made it peaceful, and non-crowded, and just perfect for kids.
We had our typical mid-day break. Lunch and naps. Then it was back out for more American-themed celebrating. We met up with Sam and Alison for fireworks in City Park.
We staked out a great spot around 7:30pm. We had two hours to goof around before the fireworks actually started.
We watched the symphony play for a bit.
And has fun with glowsticks. Sage collected and tossed the sticks over and over.
Families sitting near us were hit with glowstick collateral on several occasions. When we threatened to take them away, Sage found a new use for them.
Eventually the firework display began. It was my first Fort Collins firework experience. And I was impressed. Sam said he thought the "grand finale" had arrived a couple times prior to the real thing. Which just means the show was THAT good. Big and loud. Sage and Kale barely blinked.
(Yes, Kale was still awake at 10pm when they ended. I swear....if there is anything even remotely exciting going on, that kid won't sleep!)
And then it was Sunday....
We didn't leave the house on this day. But we still managed to entertain ourselves. The first half of the day was spent lounging in the backyard. We had the baby pool out. Sage and I kicked around a beach ball. Just some simple stuff.
Then around 6pm....we started a live stream of the last Grateful Dead show ever. The "Fare Thee Well" tour, celebrating the Dead's 50 years together. We couldn't travel to Chicago. And the ticket price for the 80,000-person-concert was way too high. So we paid $30 to watch it from our living room.
The kids were still up when the show started....so we built them a tie-dyed tent, in an effort to get them involved, but to also get them to play by themselves so mommy and daddy could focus on the concert.
We also built Sage a car. (These days I'm desperate for anything that will buy me some time! I'm having to get more and more creative.)We all contributed in some way. Sage put stickers on. Dad did some crayon art. And I made the steering wheel out of aluminum foil.
As the night when on....we got more desperate for the little ones to entertain themselves. So we stepped up the tent idea. We made a mega-tent in the room next door, and put a DVD player in there. Even that only gave us about 15 minutes. Our boys sure like one-on-one attention. :)
One of my favorite aspects of the whole show was the envelope art from the mail-order ticket requests. (Yes, some bands still let you order tickets via snail mail!!)
I just kept thinking to myself.... these people must not have kids.
And one final note:
Kale is crawling!!!
Took off like lightening on 7/4/15. He can cross a room in a single minute. It's as if he has been doing it his whole life. Yay Kale!
