Gotcha Baby » vacation

WWJB–Summer Camp 2010

Michelle — Wed, 19 May 2010 22:33:43 +0000

So emails are starting to fly amongst my gal pals, we are starting to plan for summer. Starting to plan because weeks and weeks on end with no plan at all sort of stresses me out. Mostly because without a goal each day, I’d sit here, on the Internet while my kids zone out at the TV until at least noon every day. We are looking at the free movies, the library reading programs and maybe jazzing up the around-town itinerary with a scavenger hunt or two.

As we were figuring out who was going where when, the topic of Vacation Bible School came up. MaM’s been looking forward to going to our Church’s program, and I’ve been planning what I could do for two hours each morning with Junior while she sings Kumbayah.

Then we registered this past weekend. And VBS this year is 6-8 PM. There goes that plan. Of course she’ll still go, of course she’ll still love it, but there won’t be that week of “this is why we are getting dressed before noon, and Junior, what would you like to do today” .

Then a friend shared that her boys were going to VBS at a church near their house, not their actual church. And then she threw out the name of a church near us that has a morning VBS one week in June.

AND THEN I GOT AN IDEA.

What if we church hopped all summer? What if each week I sent MaM to a new VBS? The price can’t be beat (most are $20-$30 for the week), and who couldn’t use more Bible schooling?

AND THEN MY FRIEND GOT AN IDEA.

(clue for week 1) This church has a fun festival and living Nativity at Christmas. Do you know what church this is?

What if we church hopped all summer, scavenger hunt style?

(clue for week 2) This church is across from your favorite park. Do you know what church this is?

Each week, the kids would get clue, and once they figured out which church it was, they could go to that VBS.

Theme for the summer:

Where

Would

Jesus

Be

(clue for week 3) We pass this church every day on the way to school. Do you know what this church is?

Winter, Winter Go Away…

Michelle — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:57:13 +0000

Like the rest of North America, with the exception of Vancouver, it appears, central Indiana is in the middle of the dead of winter. Snow days, school delays, snow, snow, and more snow….these have been the days of my life.

Even when the sun isn’t out, there is a terrific glare off the snow. I’m counting that as sunlight for my sanity.

So it’s only natural that summer dreams have been developing this week. Remember summer? Remember warm? Remember sunshine?

The gals at Grown in My Heart have made a plan for summer–we are going to BlogHer ‘10 in NYC. We’d like to get a slot in the Room of Their Own program–where we’d be the panel and discuss the delicate nature of sharing your family life and reproductive challenges on the Internet.

If you have two seconds, please click through here, and vote for our proposal: http://www.blogher.com/room-of-your-own-10

You do need a BlogHer account, and once you’ve signed in, please vote for us. We’d appreciate it…..and if you’re going to BlogHer ‘10, give a shout out!

Here are few flashbacks to a warmer, gentler time:

It was sooo hot the day we saw Niagra Falls, the plastic ponchos were a bit much!

The water was so warm in the Atlantic this was a sunset splash. SO WARM OUTSIDE!

Look! The Fox is wearing a romper. Not pants. He's wearing sunscreen. He's sitting on this stuff called grass. Haven't seen grass since January...

Family Trip: Success

Michelle — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:44:20 +0000

We spent most of our time away just minutes from the beach on Boston's South Shore

We are finally home again, home again (jiggety jig) after a week long family trip. It was sooo nice to get away–to not have a to do list, or the feeling that I should be doing anything more than making sure everyone is fed, clothed and reasonably clean. There wasn’t as much sleeping as I’d hoped for (why they chose this week to reset their clocks for school, I don’t know), but some of our early mornings were the best. Early morning runs to Dunkin Donuts, and an early stroll around Niagra Falls with Jr. is one I won’t soon forget.

There’s really nothing like jumping on a hotel bed……..

But there’s really no place like home!

Tourist in My Own Town

Michelle — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:09:04 +0000

I’ve been at my parents’ house since Thursday…a longish visit these days. Besides getting some quality time with family, this time around we’ve been able to be “tourists” and see a slice of Northwest Indiana/Southeastern Michigan that we drive through but never see.

Friday night, we went to Redamak’s and bit into a legend. How good are the burgers? So good that MAM ate her entire cheeseburger, with not prodding from me. That never happens. We also took a long walk around the New Buffalo beach and got our toes wet.

Saturday morning, we visited Ragtops, a small car museum. Car enthusiasts would probably be in awe. As it was, it was fun to walk around, and amazing to see how big some of these cars were (and how so many were lacking in seat belts!)

Saturday afternoon, we visited (and climbed) Mount Baldy, part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. It’s gorgeous, clean and so-not crowded. The only downside is that from the water, the bathrooms are basically a 10 minute hike away. Our friends and family all had a ball there–and BgK and I are trying to figure out when, exactly, we can make it back. It’s a three hour drive from home, but so incredibly worth it.

Monday morning, we went to the Washington Park Zoo. All of the above pictures were taken there, at their River Otter exhibit (with a tunnel, so you can crawl under where the otters are swimming, and at the playground, where you can slide like river otter…) For a small zoo, they have an amazing collection of animals, and the exhibits are set up so that even a four year old can see most of them without having to be held up. You are really up close to the animals, which both kids loved. Also, there were no vendors hawking face painting, tattoos, hair braids or anything else as you walked through the zoo. There were no “extra” tickets to purchase, no trains or 3-D movies or carousels to distract from seeing the animals. For young kids, a total gem of a place.

Today we arrived home, and have a few days of normal….then it’s on to the next (and sadly, last) summertime adventure!

(we also celebrated birthdays…but that’s in a post yet to be written)