Giggles and Adventures 2024 Recap

Hello!  Thanks for stopping by Thinking Out Loud Thursday where I share something I'm thinking about and invite you to link up and do the same.  Today I'm recapping the visit of our niece and three nephews last week.  

Our quiet house of two came alive last week when three eight-year-olds and a five-year-old came for a visit.  It was a nonstop, fun-filled few days!

Thursday we were up bright and early.  We made colored pancakes for breakfast.  The kids got a lesson in what two colors you mix together to make the popular orange most selected.  After breakfast, we loaded up to go swimming!

You might recall from my post last week that I had sent all the kids letters with activities to choose from.  Swimming at cousin Ian and Kayla's was selected by all four kids!  I can't thank them enough for letting us come over and frolic in the water!

After lunch, our next stop was Sky Zone.  This place is great for kids to run around and burn off some energy!

Before returning home, we swung by a park for the kids to play and have a shaved ice snack.

After dinner, we played a round of putt-putt golf and then fed the fish before baths and bedtime.  I'm pretty sure they were as worn out as I was!

Friday was zoo day!  St. Louis has an awesome zoo and we spent most of the morning roaming around looking at everyone's favorite animals and riding the carousel and train.  The weather was perfect for our outdoor activity!

After the zoo, we did the activity that was highest on my niece's list.  She had been wanting to visit Build-A-Bear for months and we finally had an opportunity to go!  She admitted to me the night before that she was so excited about going that she wasn't sure she could sleep.  It was the first time I had experienced the whole building experience, and I have to admit it was pretty special!  I'm glad I got to take them!

We walked out with three dinosaurs and a rabbit!  That night we watched Inside Out and all the kids wrapped their new friends in their arms.

Saturday was another busy day!  We had a few more items to cross off the list and our time was running out.  The day was kicked off with breakfast at I-Hop followed by visiting the Whimsical Woods at Faust Park, playing on a playground and taking a nature hike. 

From Faust Park, we went to the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  You might think that a botanical garden is an odd place to take a bunch of kids, but they have an awesome kid's playground complete with a splash pad!  Perfect place to cool down from our nature walk!

We hauled our four wet kids home for dinner and had a little rest before going to Chuck E. Cheese for more action!  

Sunday we were taking the kids back to their homes.  On the way, we pulled in a movie theater and watched Inside Out 2.  We all enjoyed it!  

By the time the kids reached home, we had managed to check off all 12 items on the list of things they wanted to do while visiting Aunt Penny and Uncle Eric.  It was a successful trip!

Now we are trying to get used to the quiet of our house again and I'm already planning the things to do during their next visit!

What are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

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It's Playtime with the Kids!

Glad you stopped by Thinking Out Loud Thursday where I talk about something on my mind and invite you to link up and do the same.  Today I'm reflecting on recent weekend guests!

Our summer has been a bit topsy-turvy this year, but one thing I knew I didn't want to let slip was a visit from our niece and nephews.  When we host these little ones, three are seven and one is four, we try to pack as much fun into our time as we can.  Here's how their visit came together ~

As soon as work was finished on Thursday, I drove to pick up the kiddos.  It was a toss-up on who was more excited, me or the kids!  

On the way back to our house, we talked about what our plans were for the next few days.  Everyone had their ideas of what they hoped we would do.  A goal to visit at least five different playgrounds was set.

Friday morning we were up bright and early.  After a breakfast of Dunkin Doughnuts, we were off to our first playground!  Truth be told, we got such an early start that our first destination wasn't open yet so I filled in the time with a stop at a playground.  Moody Park in Fairview Heights has a fantastic play area and the kids loved it!

Our next stop was Sky Zone.  The kids had been there during a previous visit and it was high on their list to return.  They ran around jumping on the trampolines, going down the slides, and trying all the other obstacles provided.  

When their two-hour ticket was up, we headed home for lunch and on to the water park.  Slight problem - when we arrived at the water park, it had already reached its capacity for the day so we couldn't get in.  My son, Ian, to the rescue!  He let us come over to their house and swim in their pool.  Honestly, I think that was a lot more fun for the kids and definitely a lot less stressful for me!

On our way home from the pool, we stopped at the splash pad (which we counted as another playground) to run through a little more water before heading home.  We were all exhausted and were in bed by 8:00 pm.  Saturday was going to be another big day and we didn't want to be tired!

Saturday morning we took the kids on a train trip!  In St. Louis, you can get on the Amtrak downtown and ride it to its first stop heading west in Kirkwood.  The trip is about 30 minutes and the perfect distance for little ones.  Eric dropped us off at the downtown station and drove the 14 miles to Kirkwood to pick us up.  Three of the four kids wanted to go, so one rode with Eric and met us at our destination.  It was the first "train trip" for them and it was a hit!

After we departed the train, everyone was hungry for breakfast.  Pancakes from Denny's fueled us and we were ready for our next stop - The Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House!  The Butterfly House is located in Faust Park.  There was a really cool playground next to the Butterfly House so we paused to play and took our playground count to three.

Inside the Butterfly House, the kids got to pet beetles and release a newly born butterfly.  Over 1,000 butterflies are floating around!

Also located in Faust Park is the historic St. Louis Carousel, built in 1921.  You can choose between the 60 horses, 4 deer, and 2 sleighs to ride on.   The kids loved it!

Our next stop was the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  I remembered that there was a pretty awesome playground inside the Gardens and this would bring our playground count to four!  Currently, the Missouri Botanical Gardens is hosting a Chihuly exhibit so selfishly I wanted to see some of the glass.  It was a win for everyone!

After the Botanical Gardens, we headed home to take a little rest.  We turned on a movie and two of the four kids fell asleep pretty quick.  One or two adults might have closed their eyes also!  When rest time was over, it was on to our next adventure - Chucky Cheese!

None of the kids had ever been to Chucky Cheese before and we might have created a monster here.  They LOVED it!  They will probably be wanting to go there every time they visit now.  We purchased an unlimited hour-long play card and the kids went wild, playing the games as fast as they could.  We paused our play after about a half hour to get something to drink and a snack, then they were right back at it.

We topped off the night by stopping at another local playground.  If you're counting, that made five and we reached our goal! It had been a full day and everyone was more than ready for baths and bed when we got home.  That is, they were ready after we topped off the day with some ice cream!

Sunday came way too fast.  The parents were coming over to take the kids back home, but before they arrived we went to another playground and revisited the splash pad.  Another thing we did every day the kids were here was go through the car wash.  We have a membership and definitely got our money's worth this week!  The kids thought it was hilarious how the suds changed colors and the smell came through the vents.  

Ian and Kayla graciously invited everyone over on Sunday for one last swim before the kids went home.  They were not even out of the driveway before we were missing their contagious laughter and their crazy energy.  

Now it's your turn.  What are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

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Games to Play with Your Kids While You're Waiting in Line

We are just returning from our vacation at Disney World and there are so many thoughts running through my mind.  We had a blast!  After all the magic, you leave with so many happy memories!

Eric and I met our 30-year-old son Ian and his wife at Disney.  They left after a few days and Eric and I finished off the week alone.  Two adults running wild amongst all the pixie dust.  As you can imagine, Disney was full of families with kids.  The lines were long and it amazed me when I glanced around how few parents were actually interacting with their kids.  

Flashbacks of when Ian was little came rushing back and so did the memories of us playing all kinds of games while we waited in the line.  Some lines can be over an hour wait and that's prime bonding time with your little ones.  Need to put some tools in your arsenal?  Here are a few fun go tos ~

Paper, Scissors, Rock

You know this classic - paper covers rock, rock crushes scissors, scissors cut paper.  Ian and I spent hours playing this one in line.  We would see who got the best out of 10, then start all over.  Hours of fun!

Alphabet Game

Pick a topic, like animals.  Each person names an animal that starts with the next letter of the alphabet also naming all the ones named before it.  For example - I say Antelope.  Then the next person says Antelope and Beaver.  See if you can make it through all 26 letters of the alphabet.  This one can be played with as many people as you have in your group.  

Buzz

This one is great for the little bit older kiddos.  Pick a number.  Then each person takes a turn counting.  The trick is to replace the multiple of the number you picked with the word buzz.  For example - the number picked is 5.  So every multiple of 5, replace with the word buzz.  I say 1, next person says 2, next person says 3, next one says 4 and then the next person says BUZZ.  You say BUZZ at 10, 15, 20, etc.  The game starts over when someone forgets to say BUZZ at the right time.  

Mirror, mirror

One person makes a face and everyone else has to mimic that face.  Try to play this and not laugh!  

Hope these ideas help you not only connect with your family but also help that time standing in line tick away like the speed of sound.