We tried something new over Spring Break that was a big hit with the older kids. It's called Geocaching (as in http://www.geocaching.com/) and is basically a treasure hunt via GPS. In our case, we used the iPhone, and we were able to locate a hidden cache that was about .10 of a mile from our house. Who knew that there are people out there hiding things everywhere? Liam was very excited to find that out. It's all for the thrill of the hunt, because the "treasure" is just some odds and ends of little junk, or at least the one we found was. But it was definitely treasure to the 6 and 4 yr olds. Our find was considered to be an easy one in terms of difficulty, and I would hate to look for a difficult one. Liam was the one who finally found it, hidden around a light post, but under a piece that could move up and down (the boxy thing on top of the concrete). I would NEVER have thought to look there. I guess it takes the open mind of a 6 yr old. It was a good time. For future planning, we should probably take the monkey backpack w/ leash for Owen...for him, treasure hunting is more like treasure sprinting. And we will make Jim look at the GPS before he starts driving to lessen the stress-inducing Which way do I turn?? Will someone tell me which way I need to turn before I get to the light please?!?
The other big Spring Break effort was planting (mostly) the garden. It looked so nice and promising. Then about 3 days later, we got 5 1/2 inches of snow. Oops. We'll see what lives. The kids had fun planting. Well, Liam and Natalie had fun. We did it during Owen's nap. Yes, I know the garden was supposed to be a learning experience for all, but I made the executive decision that Owen's strength lies more in the watering than the planting.... Oh, and in case you were wondering, we have jalapeno peppers, sweet banana peppers, hot banana peppers, hot green bell peppers, and one tomato plant (for diversity, you know). And of course a field of wild flowers to attract butterflies for Natalie. "Field" being relative to a 6 x 3 plot.
We didn't try to reach any big milestones like last Spring Break (shoe tying and breaking the binky habit - gosh it seems longer than a year ago we did that!). But I did take time to acknowledge the progress we've made. Liam is such a great helper now with stroller pushing, and running to help me with things when I've got my hands full. He helped scout out a highchair at the mall food court, and went to fetch it all by himself while I sat with the other two. So helpful! Natalie has also been a big help opening doors for the stroller, and picking out her own outfits, even refusing any help with buttons. Owen has been using the potty quite regularly, at least for #1, and almost stayed dry all day today without me even thinking much about it. It's all good.
1 comment:
It's all good for sure!
Sounds like fun!
Btw Mark and Josh have gone geocaching a few times - I've only helped once or twice if we are on our way home from somewhere. Josh really likes it -but he can be a pain because he's always right and his normal comment is "it has to be here somewhere" - (like what he says when we are looking for cleats, knee pads, etc.). Thanks for the reminder for something fun to do over spring break. Esp as Dawn and the kids are coming in and spending the week with my Mom, and fortunately our weeks are the same this year.
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