Just kidding...not really. Summer can get boring, especially for foster kids who have to be supervised almost constantly. We try to come up with stuff for them to do, but it gets pretty exhausting. Last weekend we had three extra kids ages 7, 1 1/2, and 9 months. That pretty much cemented my desire to take down the crib and say no to anymore babies! :-)
Anyway, what do you do with 9 kids? You take them to the local street fair for
breakfast, duh! We were quite a sight!! We had free tickets for the kids to eat, so we loaded up three strollers (I asked my mom if she wanted the wheel chair, but she refused) and took off in two vans. On our way to the line to buy food tickets for Granny and myself, a very nice lady stopped us and handed us free tickets. So we didn't even have to pay for this day in the heat! (It was in the hundreds again.) The food line was fun. "OK everyone, hold your plate with BOTH hands, no don't let it tip, it will spill...ANNIE HOLD YOUR PLATE UP! Milk or juice? How do we carry that?" Another nice lady carried plates for us to a table on the other side of the parking lot. Breakfast was good. Then we toured all the booths. There were jumpy things for the kids to play in. Then there was an old school bus called the Magic Tumble Bus which was filled with gymnastics apparatus for the kids to play on. Then, of course, clowns twisting balloons (if they could keep them from popping long enough to make them look like something.) The poor clowns, As I watched them make 9 different balloon animals for my demanding children, about 20 of the balloons popped in their hands because of the heat before we were able to walk away with happy kiddos. They made picture frames, masks, got their faces painted...all for FREE!! How could we beat it?
breakfast, duh! We were quite a sight!! We had free tickets for the kids to eat, so we loaded up three strollers (I asked my mom if she wanted the wheel chair, but she refused) and took off in two vans. On our way to the line to buy food tickets for Granny and myself, a very nice lady stopped us and handed us free tickets. So we didn't even have to pay for this day in the heat! (It was in the hundreds again.) The food line was fun. "OK everyone, hold your plate with BOTH hands, no don't let it tip, it will spill...ANNIE HOLD YOUR PLATE UP! Milk or juice? How do we carry that?" Another nice lady carried plates for us to a table on the other side of the parking lot. Breakfast was good. Then we toured all the booths. There were jumpy things for the kids to play in. Then there was an old school bus called the Magic Tumble Bus which was filled with gymnastics apparatus for the kids to play on. Then, of course, clowns twisting balloons (if they could keep them from popping long enough to make them look like something.) The poor clowns, As I watched them make 9 different balloon animals for my demanding children, about 20 of the balloons popped in their hands because of the heat before we were able to walk away with happy kiddos. They made picture frames, masks, got their faces painted...all for FREE!! How could we beat it?When we got home exhausted, our foster parent friends showed up early to pick up their three children and lessen our load a bit. That night we had family movie night...ever seen "The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit"? They loved it, then went to bed.
Sunday morning we decided to skip church even though no child in the house allowed us to sleep in AT ALL! I went out to mow the lawn and we made the girls clean out all stuffable spots in their bedroom. Every shelf, nook, and cranny was seeping onto the floor with old school papers and other junk they've picked up along the way. The boys were in their room putting all the toys away. And for probably the first time ever, both bedrooms were clean when we left the house. We went to the YMCA to swim. Our Y has the best pool area ever!! It's great for kids of all ages 
including a kiddy play area like I've never seen before, a moving river, two huge slides, and diving area, lap pools. The kids absolutely love it. Granny brought a bag full of snacks to keep their energy up (like they have a problem doing that anyway with their self-recharging batteries), and I played in the kiddy area with the boys. We stayed there for several hours, then had everyone shower (aren't we smart instead of having them go home and use our water!) When we got home they were so tired, we popped in Wallace and Grommet, and made dinner, and let them eat in the living room (something we very rarely do unless it's football season.) Then everyone went to bed happy. I even got the adoption announcements ready to go. (I'm slow on that kind of stuff.) What didn't get done this weekend? Laundry, regular chores, painting, grocery shopping. But we had fun!!
including a kiddy play area like I've never seen before, a moving river, two huge slides, and diving area, lap pools. The kids absolutely love it. Granny brought a bag full of snacks to keep their energy up (like they have a problem doing that anyway with their self-recharging batteries), and I played in the kiddy area with the boys. We stayed there for several hours, then had everyone shower (aren't we smart instead of having them go home and use our water!) When we got home they were so tired, we popped in Wallace and Grommet, and made dinner, and let them eat in the living room (something we very rarely do unless it's football season.) Then everyone went to bed happy. I even got the adoption announcements ready to go. (I'm slow on that kind of stuff.) What didn't get done this weekend? Laundry, regular chores, painting, grocery shopping. But we had fun!!Thanks for reading!
1 comment:
Sounds like an awesome day! I'm totally jealous!! Especially of your YMCA pool!!!
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