Bounce Time, Watercolors & Volleyball

It was a gray gloomy day this past Thursday here in the suburbs of Chicago so we headed for a favorite place - the bounce gym at the McCook Athletic Expo.  My friend met us there with her newly two year old son and one month old baby girl.  I told the kids ahead of time I really couldn't be jumping around and sliding down the slides this time. I really needed to rest. They ALWAYS want me to play tiger and chase them around. While it's ok to do that for while, they really, really wear me out.

Thankfully, they just asked a few times and seemed ok with me saying no. I actually was able to talk quite a bit with my friend, in between kids coming up and asking questions, getting out food, and so on.

After leaving the bounce gym, we dropped off some videos and headed to the LaGrange Library. Jared wanted to check out yet another Batman book, and I found a copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We started to read the book last week after checking it out the week before, but I had to return it because it was on hold for someone. I was so glad this library had it. As of today, we read through chapter 15. It was slow going with the kids, and I was actually going to stop because they didn't seem that interested in it, but once Charlie found the Golden Ticket, they really seemed to get into it much more - wanting me to read at least three chapters at a time. The book was one of my very favorites as a kid, and I adore the older movie, so I was so hoping they'd love it too.

We came home, and the kids watched a few episodes of Time Warp Trio - a really cute animated series where three kids go back in time and meet the Vikings, African Tribes, and other historical groups.

Later in the afternoon, there was also some watercolor painting at our house. Lately, Alexa has been very interested in painting again, but only if it's watercolors. I've loved the new pictures I can hang up on the walls. They seem to go in and out of interests at times. Do your kids do that, too?

Jared mixed his painting with a huge globs of glue, which he said was a web, and then sprinkled glitter over the whole thing. Oh, and the black things jutting out of the top and bottom are the hands of the dragon.

Some other things we've enjoyed doing the last part of this week have been .....

Jared tying up and taping up his Batman figure in any way can. He has this obsession lately with trying to make sure his Batman can't escape.

They've rediscovered bathtub crayons again. I don't think they've done this for at least six months.

Wonderful dress-up. I don't know if it's clear in the picture but Jared  has on his Spider-Man ear muffs, winter hat, and the camera case with all his figures slung over his shoulder.

More Lego creations...

...and creative uses of the box that holds the remotes. Jared grabbed the box, turned it over on its side, and suddenly it became the perfect Batcave. When we were eating lunch, Jared looked down at the olive juice on his plate and said, "Look! It's a Bataxe!"  And, doggone it, it DID look like a Bataxe. That boy sees Batman in just about everything.

Yesterday, in the afternoon, Steve's parents took the kids to Proksa Park for a few hours, and I was able to work on this blog. I guess Jared saw a boy wearing a Spiderman mask and was glued to him the entire time. Then when they were in the car, Jared said he wanted a Spiderman mask, too. When they pulled up to the house, Jared cried and cried and refused at first to get out of the car because he thought they were going to take him to get a mask.

Later that evening, we went to see Granddad and Grandma (Steve's parents) play volleyball at the church gym. They play in a fun league, but they really did quite well, even though they did lose two of their three games. The kids had never seen any type of organized game in person before, so it was fun to see their little faces light up, although they became very squirmy towards the end.

Afterwards, we got a sundae from McDonald's, and the kids played in the PlayLand. Jared learned a valuable lesson that evening. McDonald's WILL mix both carmel and chocolate together in the same sundae.