Road Trip Wednesdays: Visiting Kaela at OMSI

Next up for the weekly adventures was a trip to OMSI to visit with Kaela.  The weather was looking only mediocre for the week, so a trip out of the gloom and some time in a wide open play place inside sounded perfect.  
It was also perfect timing to meet up with Kaela.   

It was the day after the fateful hair-cutting incident, so I tried a headband to cover up the damage.  Not my favorite look on her, but it hid the fringe!

Could Emery be any cuter?

Whitley bee-lined it for the water area while the other girls were otherwise occupied.  She was loving it once she got a hold of some dipping canisters.

 

We then moved on to the animal area - and kind of settled into that place for nearly the rest of our stay.  

Addy enjoyed the "close-ups" =)

The one shot I got of Sienna during this field trip - happy in Kaela's arms.

A quick selfie - sometimes I just slow her down to pose so I can get kind of a hug.  

Elsie and Emery both loved the magnifying glass and animal prints too!

Just like at Honeyman, Whitley was happy to befriend "other kids" - particularly boys that are older - (uh oh!) - and engage in play with them.  It's times like these that it feels like she's growing up so fast and will absolutely excel in pre-school in the fall.  

These two were loving life too - the floaty ball area was fantastic.  

And, the water area was a hit once the girls discovered it.

Addy, just kicking it, right before we needed to leave.  

Trying to get this whole crew to smile - oh, not so easy.... but at least we were able to prove we were all there and no one was crying!

We were able to pull off smiles all around in this pic...

We ended up arriving back into town earlier than expected and happily took up some extra time at the new play structure in downtown Coburg.  The last thing I wanted to do was get home after such a busy and tiring day and be coerced into aerobics on the trampoline, so I was all about killing time together!  It was a hit - and ended the day quite successfully! (For sure, Emery thought so!)

Road Trip Wednesdays: Honeyman State Park in Florence

The inaugural trip of "Road Trip Wednesdays" - and it will go down in history as a splendid day indeed.

It had been at least 12 years since I'd been to Honeyman State Park in Florence - in terms of actually playing at the lake portion, so I was a little hesitant to be the lead on this trip without more recent experience, but as it turned out, my concern was unmerited.  We waited for a day in which the high temps were expected to exceed 70 degrees on the coast - a rarity, and given it was still a midweek day during which school was still happening - the crowds would hopefully be very low.  Yes and yes!

What a crew we managed to fit into my "Magical Minivan".  It definitely is not a piece of cake to fit all five of the carseats in (especially the big ones in the back), but so worth the trouble to be able to all drive together. 

The kids were actually quite awesome on the ride there - I think (in hindsight) we got a little "beginner's luck".

As soon as we arrived, we found a small picnic campsite, started a fire, and made ourselves hot dogs, watermelon, and smores for lunch.  I think us moms were more excited about the bbq than the kids (we would have preferred to sit and lounge for a while, but 5 minutes was about their limit for sitting still).  

The panorama view from the campsite - such a GORGEOUS DAY!

Addy was definitely a fan of the smores - especially the marshmallow.  We wisely chose to change them into swimsuits and out of pj's after lunch!

And, then, we parked a couple spaces away and headed down to Cleawox Lake.  Honestly, it was even better than I remembered.  Christi and Cheyenneh were so impressed, but nothing compared to the joy that the kids all demonstrated.

ESPECIALLY WHITLEY!  (Apparently, she'd just watched "Karate Kid" and was practicing the pose) =)

Emery just wanted to get further into the water.  

Whitley was a little more interested staying out in the water, while Addy and Elsie tended to keep themselves happily occupied a little closer to shore.

What a model!

Sienna and Emery did such a great job playing at the shoreline before taking naps in the Ergo's their moms wisely packed.

They are both COVERED in sand - and loving every minute of it!

These little water floaties cost all of $1.99 each - and they were worth every penny.  

 

All five in sight - all five playing independently and happy.  The day felt miraculous.  

This little boy was SO sweet.  He walked along the shore line offering to give rides on his boogy board.   The girls soaked up his attention and the fun of it.  Elsie also took a ride, but we didn't catch that in pics. 

 

 

 

 
And, us moms - we were grinning head to toe.  Mission over-the-top accomplished on our first outing of "Road Trip Wednesdays"

I can't even put into words how thankful I am for these two ladies (and their kiddos) in my life.

We capped off the fun of the day with some ice cream from DQ.  We thought they'd definitely earned it with such great behavior.

And, this was the result of bbq, sunshine, lake water, and ice cream.  Whitley's still hanging in there (she never did fall asleep), but she was super close.  

What a fantastic day - if this was how every day was spent as a mommy (or auntie) - life would be so good!