Changed plans

I had planned to go to the museum with the kids on Thursday.  But with the warmer than usual weather, we opted for the Grove.  As expected, the kids had a great time.  We couldn't get into the log cabin or teepee, but I suspect we may have just missed those being unlocked.  We arrived before 10AM and I think that might be when the outer buildings become open.  I will have to look into this for next time.  We enjoyed walking around though and got to watch several young deer running through the forest.  James wanted to chase them, but luckily they were far enough away.  We did find a replica of a covered wagon that they climbed onto.  Carolyn was pretty excited about it as we connected it with the wagon from the Little House books.  It is so cool to me how both kids will use things/ideas from their books in life/play.  We were able to get into the workshop building that houses all sorts of tools from the pioneer days.  We again saw some items that had been discussed in the Little House books, and both kids enjoyed looking at all the different things.  We then ended up back by the animals.  Both kids seemed to get a sense of peace watching the turtles and fish in the main display area when you first walk in.  I swear they could have sat there for hours just watching the turtles climb on and off the rocks.  But alas I dragged them home for lunch.

We spent Thursday afternoon baking cookies for Jon to take to work and I headed off tutor once he arrived home.  It was definitely a long evening as I met with 3 students for 3.5hrs of tutoring plus plenty of driving, arriving home at 9pm.  I am looking forward to finals being over so I don't have to drive around so much.  And truly, I'm looking forward to next year and hopefully a new job for Jon so that I can cut back on work.  I really miss the time with the kids and just time as a family.

Today we had a day at home.  Carolyn was in a dress shortly after waking up, it's cute how she has those girly days.  We read some, had breakfast, and then played some board games.  Carolyn chose Chutes and Ladders and James hung with us just long enough to win.  Carolyn was sad not to win, but I don't believe in fudging things for self-esteem with board games.  She stated that she was sad and I acknowledged it and stayed with her until she did get to the finish.  We then threw the laundry in (the kids love to help with this) before choosing Sorry as the next game.  This seems to still be a bit beyond Carolyn's grasp.  We played for only 5-10 minutes before she just wanted to play with the pawns.  Both kids then dumped them in and out of James' dump truck for a while before moving on.  I brought out their coloring for the day, with the number 11.  James wasn't interested so we read for a while instead.  It was a nice relaxing morning, but apparently not active enough because both kids had trouble napping.  So next time we'll be sure to fit in gross motor activities.  I'm thinking an obstacle course is a good plan.  This afternoon we did some more reading and Carolyn worked on a phonics sheet.  She's becoming a little resistant to school "work" these days as it becomes slightly challenging for her.  But I think the next few sheets are easier so that will be good next week.

I'm now looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow and a much calmer week next week.  I don't have as many tutoring sessions lined up and work online should be more manageable.  I hope to take advantage of the extra time as a family in our last week before Jon begins coaching.  Tomorrow is supposed to be warm so we might be heading to the park.  And on Sunday we might get snow!