Wisconsin Trip 2021!

We finally made it to Wisconsin! It had been over two years since our last visit. My parents came to visit right before COVID hit in March of 2020 but that was it. We were excited for Lydia to meet so much of the family and for the kids to spend time with family.

Our flights out of Houston got a little delayed and worrisome. But all was good. We finally landed in Wausau around 9:45 and got to my parents about 10:30. The kids were too riled up to even think about bed. We had to say hi to the dog and cat plus the grandparents. My parents surprised us by actually retiring the day after we arrived. So they just had one more work day before their permanent vacation!

My sister makes every attempt to come up to Wausau and see us when we come. It was wonderful to have her come play with the kids and meet Lydia. Trescha ran a race in Houston in 2020 and actually flew back to Wisconsin the day Lydia was born. Except she left at 4am to catch her flight and Lydia came that afternoon.

Part of our vacation was renting a lake cabin up north for a week. My parents joined us with their RV at the campsite and we had a blast. The kids were thrilled to be out in nature. Gemma loved finding all the chipmunks.

Lots of campfires and s'mores for the week. I am just glad no one fell in the fire. Across from my parent's campsite were a few families with a couple boys. Every time we came to visit, the boys would come and ask for Tanner. They played sports and went on bug hunts together. Tanner was thrilled and even cried when his friends left at the end of the week.

Lydia was a trooper up north. She actually got really sick the second half of our week up north and stopped eating and drinking. Thankfully she slept well. Poor girl!

Our week up north consisted of boating, water skiing, tubing, swimming in lakes, visiting Jim Peck's zoo, lots of ice cream, playing at the campground, go-karting, horseback riding, and mini golf. We were exhausted but the good kind. The kind of exhausted when you spend all day having fun.

This was her first full day of not feeling well at all. She hung on at Jim Peck's for a few hours but didn't want anything to do with the animals. I hope we can take her back another year when she's feeling better. I thought she would love all the animals at this stage.

Gemma was not a huge fan of the birds. She would drop her Popsicle stick almost immediately after a bird flew on it.

WIsh us luck!

Here are the kids lengthy bucket lists for the summer. In case you can't read them all, here they are. We'll see how we do:

Lemonade stand, go swimming (100 times according to Tanner. We are at 15 I think right now), go to a baseball game, read 50 books, water day (with slip-n-slide out back), watch the Olympics, visit Natural Science Museum, grow flowers, have two FHEs a week (their wish for two treats a week), watch NBA finals, visit fairy trail park, visit ALL the splashpads, make popsicles, host the Wilcox Olympics, learn to read (Tanner; he is doing well so far), see the caves in San Antonio, go to the beach, craft stuff, game nights, ice skating (not sure about this one...), have a picnic, lots of playdates, and make tie-dye shirts.

 Ashton copied most of this on her own paper and added a bunch including: try new foods, go to the library, go to new parks, see new animals, new rides at SeaWorld (in August), extra BBQ nights, build a fort, make playdough, make slime, see fireworks, go strawberry picking, go to zoo, water balloon fights, go bowling, extra movie night, play with friends, fancy meals, learn a sport, go on a family bike ride, and go flower picking.

Needless to say, we will be very busy this summer, but in a good way. Our district seems to be pushing the "summer slide" a lot. I wonder if it is due to COVID and many students still falling behind. Of course, I looked into the research that drives this notion/mentality. And it has some flaws in it. I think we'll stick to our list instead of the virtual summer school option. I am good to not think about school for the next two months.

Surprise Trip to California

 Some friends from Lake Jackson moved to southern California a year after we moved to the Houston area. This was an answer to my prayers. It was incredibly difficult to leave our friends when we moved. I prayed for new friends, which slowly came. But I think Heavenly Father knew my two closest friends would also leave Lake Jackson in the year following our move away. It made the move a little easier knowing that even if we had stayed, I wouldn't have the close friends anyways.

The family in CA rented a house until they could find one to buy. They found one this spring and between a larger house and less travel restrictions, we decided to surprise the kids with a trip. Due to a two hour time change and wanting to do some "big kid" stuff, Joseph stayed back with the two littles. I picked Ashton up from school on the last day of school and we went straight to the airport. Tanner and Ashton were shocked. It was perfect! The Coon's hadn't told their kids either so they were happy to see us when they woke up the next morning after we arrived.

We flew out Thursday and got in late to the house that night. Driving in LA in the dark wasn't much fun but the kids fell asleep so I could focus on driving. Houston traffic has prepared me for that, though.

Friday was my favorite day. We went the Channel Islands National Park. It was simply majestic. We took the 1.5 hour boat ride out to the island. It was pretty bumpy and I got a little nauseous but the kids did fine. We saw hundreds of dolphins that swam right along the boat. The island is completely free of resources/amenities aside from some porta-potties. This means you bring everything you need for the day. The boats only come and go at set times that you reserve. So you must be ready to stay for the day as there is no option to head back earlier. The kids handled this very well. We went hiking up to the top of the island and Tanner didn't complain at all! We had lunch at the top with the ocean surrounding us. On the way down, we saw the two animals specific to this island: Island Fox and Island Scrub Jay. Tanner loved the little foxes. There are also eucalyptus trees all over so it smelled amazing.

After the hike and lunch, we wandered the rocky beach and went snorkeling. Well, as close to snorkeling as you can with a 5 and 7 year old. I brought wetsuits for us as I knew the water would be freezing. And it was. But the kids lasted longer than I anticipated. Then, they build rock creations on the beach.

Saturday, we went to Ventura and visited the beach and boardwalk. The family we stayed with has a trampoline so any downtime was spent jumping on that.

Sunday was church and a visit to some tide pools. The kids found tons of hermit crabs and were happy.

Monday, we ventured up to Santa Barbara for the day. We visited a science museum that the kids loved. Then we got some lunch and ice cream  along the pedestrian walk/boardwalk area. That night, we had dinner at the family's parents home with their outdoor pizza oven. Delicious!

Tuesday, we traveled back home and were so happy to be back together. It was a fun trip and we will definitely go back in future years. Probably to see/visit more of the national parks in CA.

House Projects

As a child, I recall two large house projects our family did. One year, we built a fence in our backyard. It was an all weekend thing with my extended family coming to help. The other large project was finishing the attic in our house. We added a bedroom for my mom as well as an office space upstairs. I have fond memories of doing house projects as a family. One summer, we helped my uncle with his backyard landscaping. As the youngest grandchild in the family, I loved those weekends where the entire family would get together.

Those memories encourage me to include our family with house projects now. When we first moved in, we had a landscaping company do a few jobs for us and looking back, I wish we would have done them ourselves.

Our kids are slowly getting to the age where they can help rather than hinder the progress. We needed to put some gravel/rocks on the side of the house where the two AC units are located. This area just grows over with weeds and I am always nervous about snakes back there. The kids can't access the area but I go there to grab a hose and water the gardens. We got a truck to deliver a ton of gravel and rocks and we set to work Saturday morning. The kids all found shovels and buckets to help carry the rocks around to the side yard. It was a fun morning with some good hard work. And we aren't sore today, so that is a win!

Tanner surprised me the most. He filled his little blue bucket and the wheelbarrow all morning with no complaining.

Now I can brainstorm other house projects for them to help with...

More Vacation Pictures

 Here are some pictures of the kids trip to Alabama and Florida with Joseph.

Aunt Samantha having the kids join her workout.

Grandma McGlothren's dog and Tanner became besties.

Probably the highlight of their trip. Dolphin cruise/boat tour. It was during the Blue Angels practice too, so Tanner was excited to watch the jets while Ashton looked for dolphins.

Vacation and Sickness

 Joseph decided to take the two oldest to Alabama/Florida for the funerals. One sister flew into Houston to drive with him. Since one funeral was on a Saturday and the other was on a Wednesday, they rented a beach house near Pensacola between the two funerals. The kids had a blast at the beach and lived it up. They saw the air show practice near the naval base there plus went on a dolphin cruise/boat.

Meanwhile, Lydia and Gemma hung out with me. We enjoyed no school pick up and long naps. Monday night, Gemma kept complaining of her stomach hurting. This is nothing new... potty training her has made her connect urinating to discomfort, which she shows as pain. It's a work in progress. I didn't really think too much of it until she threw up all over the carpet in the living room. Ugh! It was a mess and the poor girl had no control over it. After getting her (and the carpet) cleaned up, we went to bed. Thankfully, Gemma slept through the night despite throwing up at some point. Tuesday morning was spent laying low and hoping it was a one-time event.

Tuesday night, Lydia started getting sick. To the point of my concern of dehydration started. She was so tired and just fell asleep anywhere. Poor kid. She turned the corner on Wednesday at some point and I was hopeful the big kids would miss getting sick.

The cool trick Lydia learned despite being sick. Now our dining room chairs are tipped over.

 

The big kids got home late that night and they were healthy still. Ashton went back to school Thursday and Tanner went Friday. Friday afternoon as I am driving Tanner to a kindergarten screening, he throws up all over the car. At least he threw up in the car instead of in the district office building. Ashton ended up getting sick Saturday. We spent the weekend on the couches and carrying the kids buckets around. By Monday, everyone was back to normal.

I'm grateful we didn't all go to Alabama/Florida. I've taken the big kids on a trip where we got a stomach bug in a hotel and it was not fun. Then to add on funerals and more travel, I am glad everyone got sick at home.