Right away this morning, the 5 kiddos were in need of some entertainment. Sarah came to the rescue! She brought out her bag of homemade play dough, moon sand, and a really cool type of play clay made with (I think) cornstarch and conditioner.
All of the kids, including Jaden pictured here, enjoyed experimenting with all the various textures.
They enjoyed pushing, playing, stretching the dough and stamping it with cookie cutters. What a great activity!
Our outing on this day was my overall favorite of the week because the boys absolutely had a blast. We went to the North Pole, an amusement park specifically designed for kids aged 10 and under.
We have never before taken Jaden and Cody to any type of amusement park (just our state fair, but we rode no rides), so we weren't sure how they'd do throughout the day. Our first ride was on a carousel. Although Jaden started out on this reindeer, he quickly decided that he'd be much more content sitting on a carousel bench with Mommy.
Everyone else loved their carousel rides...
...even including Papa! :)
Some of the rides at the park were designed for parents to ride with their children, like this Christmas tree ornament ride.
On other rides, parents were allowed to accompany their kiddos, but the tight fit wasn't too comfortable. Love all the adults awkwardly sitting sideways here. :)
Many of the rides (a surprising amount, actually) allowed the small kids to experience fully on their own. In fact, Ian was a bit too tall for some of these rides!
It definitely felt a bit strange to strap our boys to these rides and then walk away. They still seem so little! Neither boy seemed to mind at all, though. In fact, the only tears they shed were when they had to get off the rides!
Yes, we became some of "those parents" who excitedly (obnoxiously?) wave to their kids as they pass by, saying hi and snapping tons of pictures. :)
It made us laugh that Cody was always fully engaged, holding on to the reigns, handlebars, steering wheels, whatever the vehicle had to offer. He was ready to go!
Jaden, on the other hand, would typically grip tightly on to the sides, appearing as though he was frightened. Every time we'd get him after the ride's end, however, he'd ask to go "more, more, more."
Probably the ride the boys were most excited to get on was this one since it was full of a variety of fun vehicles. Cody looked like a little pro on this motorcycle!
On this video, you can see/hear Cody eagerly honking the horn, while Ryan and Jaden casually ride by in their bus.
All of us got to ride on a train together...
...and a ferris wheel. The park claimed that this was the "highest ferris wheel in the world" (due to the high elevation of Colorado to begin with).
We also attended a brief magic show,
and fed some animals at a petting zoo.
We (our family at least) ended the morning with a ride on these old-fashioned cars. Our boys were nearly falling asleep on some rides, so we knew it was time to return home. Grammy and the TX Schleichers stayed for an extra hour or more.
What a perfect amusement park for our little guys! They obviously loved every minute and completely wore themselves out.
Later on in the evening, the family celebrated my July birthday a little early as well. Andrew whipped up his famous chocolate souffle recipe. Delicious!
Jaden helped me with the candle...
...and Cody provided the extra encouragement. :)
One day left to go in our full family week!