Little House on the Prairie

Did you know that the Little House on the Prairie was on the way from Topeka to Tulsa? How in the world did I miss this? Sunday I decided (along with some help from my mother-in-law) that our run around and wiggle stop would be there. We took a potty break about 30 minutes prior but I wish we would have waited. The bathrooms at The Little House on the Prairie were far superior to the gas station we had stopped at. The admission was $3 for adults and $1 for the kids. I would have paid that just to use the bathrooms there. It makes a great rest stop.

I think that Ellie and Jack loved it the most. Jack talked to the donkeys nearly the entire time we were there. Ellie loved all the little details. The school, the post office and the little house all were perfectly put together. We even found a little turtle crossing through. My mom would have loved it. It reminded me of her. Such a fantastic learning opportunity. We talked about homesteading, why the post master would have lived at the post office and all sorts of things. I think it will be really neat to do some research, reading, maybe a couple episodes of the show and then visit it again in a few years. It is just far enough off highway 75 that it's nice and quiet, giving you that 1870's feel.

Take a detour and make your rest stop here. You won't regret it! Stop at the gas station for drinks and snacks or bring your own. We got butterscotch and peppermint sticks at the gift shop 10 for a dollar.

Love when I get them all together in a pic. 

Jack LOVED the donkeys. That was his favorite part.

The mail boxes were a big hit.

Ellie was really in her element!

Anyone ready for school?

Zoo Pals

This year was my first year to purchase a Zoo Membership to our local zoo.  I've always been a little hesitant to make an investment in a yearly membership but this year I splurged.  I'm so glad I did too.  We went last Friday (our 4th trip since April), which was unseasonably cool for the first day of June.  I knew it would be packed but it wasn't bad at all.  We didn't have to wait in line, which was a life saver with Jack and Regan.  It was just the four of us since Ethan was at my Mom's house for the week.  We only stayed for a couple of hours but had so much fun.  Before when I would plan a zoo trip it would be a big event and I would try and squeeze as many things in as possible to "get our money's worth for the day."  Everyone would be exhausted when we were done.  Without that stress I was able to just let the kids lead me to what they wanted to see and leave when it was the right time to leave.  No one felt they had missed something because we would just see it the next time and no one got so tired that they had a meltdown.  I also let them pick one extra thing per trip and this time it was cotton candy, pink cotton candy to be exact.  This way we avoid the "I want's" and the whining.  I'm cooler than Dale now.

I doubt I'll get a membership every year but so far it's been a blast.  Here's some pics of our last visit.

Ellie's face makes me laugh in this one!  Ahhh!

Hello big fish!

Finally!  Up close and personal with the Jaguar.  My favorite!

We love the chimps. 

Jack thought the rain in the Rain Forest was so neat.

Goal for the year: Get a shot with all four kids as monkeys.
It's worth a try.

  

Camping 101 with The Jones Family

We went camping with all the kids over Memorial Day weekend.  It was fun and exhaustion all rolled in to 24 hours.  Yes we camped for 24 hours.  So here is our experience summed up into a few lists and some pictures.  Let's start with the awesome stuff.

Awesome:

• Watching the girls faces light up with delight when the butterflies would land on them.
• Playing catch and soccer with Ethan.
• Letting Jack change the shoreline of the lake by throwing in every rock he could get his hands on.
• I skipped a rock for the first time ever.  I know this is lame for some people but apparently you just need a good teacher (thanks honey!) and I had never done it!
• Campfire Smores- they just taste so much better cooked over a campfire, the kids replied "Smores" to my question as to what their favorite part was.
• No technology and not knowing what time it was.  Being completely unplugged for a few days has been really nice.
• Listening to Ellie and all of her scientific terminology, she is wicked smart and blew our minds.
• Going hiking together and watching the kids explore and interact with nature.
• No one getting hurt (I mean this one is pretty awesome).
• Getting to see a really big snake and a tarantula, they were cool and I'm pretty sure Jack would have followed that tarantula anywhere.
• My Campfire Cowboy Skillet lunch- Dale chimed in it was his favorite part.  I'll give you the recipe tomorrow :).
• Teaching the kids about responsibility.  We had them help with set up and clean up for both the camping part and the meals.
• There's no place like home!  Especially hearing the kids say how much they loved camping and loved being back at the house.  One of the best showers I've ever taken.

Oh Crap:

• Forgetting kitchen utensils (like a spatula, can opener and paper towels).  I remembered this on the way out and we borrowed a spatula from the Grandparents.  Thankfully Dale is pretty handy and can open a can with a screwdriver and a mallet.  He also went to town for paper towels so we could have yummy skillet potatoes for breakfast.
• Forgetting to put OFF higher up our shorts.  Ethan's bum, Ellie thighs and my thighs look like they have chicken pox.  Yay for hydrocortisone cream!
• The showers were like being in a sauna so we got clean and sweaty again all within 20 minutes and the person that showered before us left poop in there.  I became a mom with the expectations that I would have to clean up my own kids poop, I get really pissed when I have to clean up other peoples! That part was just straight up nasty.
• Having to say "Where's Jack" every 15 minutes at the campsite.  The difference between ages 2 and 3 is listening skills, really important listening skills.

What we learned:

• A portable kid potty is invaluable and the one of the best investments I ever made.  You can put it in the car or in a folding chair for the big kids (or me in the middle of the night) and not have to walk to the bathrooms.  
• Bring your own toilet paper.  So glad I did!  To quote Ethan "I don't know what that stuff is but it doesn't belong anywhere near my butt!"
• We are going to invest in a shower enclosure to go with our Coleman 5 gallon solar shower.  It would have been a million times easier to just shower outside instead of the sauna/poop shower.  
• You can't have too many activities planned during the day.  There was a little bit of "everyone hasn't had enough sleep/ it's really hot/ we don't really want to do anything but lounge around" between lunch and dinner.  
• Bring a big blanket just to lay outside on.  Jack and Regan both just laid down for a nap when they were ready and it was kind of hot in the tent.
• Don't bring sugary drinks.  It will just make the kids hyper and kind of annoying.  Just water or even a Crystal Light drink would have been enough.

Now we know we can do it.  We definitely want to do it again and we know the kids can totally pass as campers.  Regan listened way more than I thought she was capable of and the big kids were pretty awesome.  Maybe we'll consider it again when our bug bites are gone!

Ethan is pretending to be Spongebob.  Someday he'll want me to hide this one.

The girls didn't care for this guy as much as the boys.

Jack needed a closer look.  

The butterflies kept landing and the girls would have conversations with them.

Oh my how they are growing.

Take my hand Daddy and lets go over here!

Dale is looking for good skipping rocks.

He loves his brother and always looks out for him.  Glove on an all.

Red faced and sweaty!  She fell asleep on me a few minutes later.  This girl will always
pose for a picture.

Jack would walk around knocking all of the chairs over.  Apparently sitting on  the
trash was way more comfortable!

Where's Jack?

You might also like:  Campfire Cowboy Skillet

Animal Lover

A few weeks ago I saved a bird.  It had its little head stuck between the rock and siding of our house.  I put rubber gloves on (birds crap when they're scared and I see my fair share of poop inside the house) and freed him, excuse me I freed Paul as Ethan named him.  I was lucky enough not to break his neck.  I was terrified I was going to hear a big crunch and snap.  Whew!  Super mom and animal lover to boot.  I did it all in my pajamas.

Fast forward to last night.  It was too cold to go outside for a mud party after dinner.  It's Spring Break and been rainy non stop all week.  After a successful mud party Wednesday I thought I'd give it another shot and wear those kids out.  Stupid cold!  So we opted for a big bubble bath with colored foam soap instead.  After everyone was settled I sat in the hallway texting my husband as I watched them giggle.  Then it happened.  I felt something crawl across my face and could make out that it was potentially a spider.  Commence complete hysterical screaming.  I frantically swiped my face.  I knew that it had just gone down my shirt or was just camping out on my leg waiting to attack me so I got on my knees and sure enough shook that spider off me.  He thought he could escape unscathed but shrieking frantically I whacked him with my phone.  I had just removed a splinter from Regan's foot so I was lucky enough to have a pair of tweezers in my hand.  I picked that little mom murderer up and flushed him down the toilet and shivered.  I may be an animal lover but a spider lover I am not.  The 3 kids in the bath just looked at me like I was nuts and kept playing.  Ethan was the only one that asked me what happened.  Way to score some Mom points before your birthday.

Now I'm off to make some cupcakes, thermal detonators and light sabers for a Star Wars birthday party.  You better believe I'm going to be Princess Leia, buns and all.

Farm Day

I'm ready to be a farmer.  Which if you asked me 10 years ago what I would want for me or my family this would never have come up.  We spent an afternoon in a small town in Oklahoma and had a glorious time.  Ellie's favorite part was the baby chicks, Jack loved the puppies, Regan could have spent all day wandering around with the kitty and while Ethan would tell you his favorite part was fishing, we all know it was the "farmer's" daughter.  Boy were they smitten with one another.  I think my favorite part was going to a "strangers" house (my husband knew them from work, but I had never met them) and being welcomed as though we were old friends.  I felt right at home, I think we all did.  After chicks, puppies, fishing and fun, we went to an Easter egg hunt at their church.  The kids had so much fun and were ready to stay with their new friends.  Here are a few photo highlights of the day.

He almost got that chick out, but he got sqeamish!



Thats right she is halfway in the chick cage. 



Love at first sight.



Puppy love.



She talked to everything.



Cutest puppy ever.

Peek-a-boo puppy!

Two of my favorite guys.

Yay for Easter eggs!