On Wednesday of our trip, we headed to the Focus on the Family headquarters. This center is very kid-friendly with lots of indoor kids' activities. We started out at this toddler zone, which the four littlest ones especially loved.
Grammy kept Ian entertained by acting out the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Ian loved it!
The next room housed a small theater, complete with puppets, costumes, and a staging area for families to put on a show together. Grammy was the first one to jump right in and put on a costume. The kiddos loved her entertainment! :)
Eventually, more family members took a turn on stage.
Cody and Jaden spent some time observing the on-stage action,
but then had to check out some of the other nearby excitement.
The next area had an airplane-type structure for the kids to crawl through and a small slide. Ian was the only kid tall enough to try out this mammoth slide!
They gave him a special bag to sit in and arm "guards" to wear to prevent leg or arm burns from the long slide. Ian came down smiling!
Towards the end of our visit, we found a nice outdoor table for snacktime.
Andrew and Jason attempted some dual goldfish catching.
I don't remember if this was a doubly successful catch or not, but the guys were sure amusing to watch! :)
Although the vacation rental home was a bit smaller than we had anticipated, it was really nice to all be together in one place (even if we were quite cozy!). There was always someone new to talk or play with! Little Abby was so curious about the makeup that I was putting on this morning...
...so of course, she had to try a bit! Aunt Amy loved having some little girl time. :)
Ian and Grammy played quite a few games of Guess Who. Abby supervised.
Sarah brought some super fun Magna-tiles along, manipulatives that she had often used in her preschool classroom.
Ian showed everyone how to play the game Trouble.
And, of course, we all enjoyed our outdoor time. You'll notice that Jaden and Cody are wearing slightly oversized matching jackets in many of these photos. The weather was still a bit cool, and unprepared Mommy forgot to throw in the boys' jackets for our trip! (We were traveling south, after all!) Thankfully, Grammy had brought along these jackets (size 4T) for the boys that she had found on a great sale back home. Jaden and Cody definitely appreciated the warmth and didn't mind the bigger size at all. Thanks for keeping the boys warm, Grammy! :)
Sarah's dump truck game was quite a popular one.
Cody finds his big cousin Ian for a brief hug. :)
The day was not complete unless the kids steered their toys down the sidewalk and rested at the end.
At some point before dinner, we played a very relaxed, unstructured game of family baseball/T-ball. Everyone took a turn at bat.
The youngest kids needed a bit of guidance.
"Play ball!" :)
I'm not actually sure whose turn it was to be on base here. :) What a loving big cousin!
Our cheering section!
We also attempted another grandchild shot. Much more successful than the previous day!
After dinner, we celebrated Papa's July 6th birthday a few days early... with some tasty strawberry shortcake. And, yes, we made the birthday boy light his own candles!
Happy birthday to a wise, generous, loving Dad/Papa! Love you!
Papa let his grandkids help to blow out the candles.
Jaden and Cody were BIG fans of the dessert.
After the kiddos went to bed, Dad opened a few birthday gifts.
And then we ended the evening with some Guy/Girl time. The ladies stayed upstairs to visit and to work on some crafting. Mom, Kim, and I each had an applique stocking project to do. Quite a few months ago, Mom graciously agreed to help me sew a stocking for one of the boys, since I knew that completing 2 would be tough. Doesn't her stocking (for Cody) look beautiful so far?
Kim continued her stocking work for Ryan.
And I tried to make some progress with Jaden's.
Sarah, creative as always, was designing some watercolor invitation envelopes and decorations for Abby's upcoming birthday party.
It was such a relaxing evening to craft and visit!
What were the guys doing in the meantime? Conquering the world, of course!
They had quite a set-up downstairs with the baseball game in the background.
The guys did a great job of keeping their Risk-playing excitement at a minimum. No children were awakened during the course of this game. :)
Eventually, it came down to Matt and Dad battling it out for the win. In the end, Matt was the world conqueror.
Thanks, family, for another great day!
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