Now I Need a Vacation!

Our family vacation to Florida was quite a trip. Not so sure it could be categorized as a "vacation" for mom and dad, but the boys were in seventh heaven. Afterall, what could be more fun than hours upon hours of outdoor play time with an endless supply of water, sand, sea shells and other icky stuff washed up on shore?

It was one of those trips that was full of family memories in the making, but a really exhausting kind of fun. I think Scott said at one point it felt like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. That's probably not a bad analogy.

The boys loved the ocean and were not afraid of the water at all! They enjoyed being knocked over by waves and splashed by the surf. Both learned how to make a "castle" with the damp sand using a bucket as the mold. Even Isaac was successful in making "castles" all by himself. Calem's favorite activity was digging and filling holes, while Isaac spent much of his time driving trucks and cars all over the beach. We all enjoyed picnic lunches on the beach and the weather couldn't have been nicer. The water was warm and the air was not stifling hot yet. No one got sun burned, and overall the beach was a huge hit.

Both boys also learned how to "swim" with arm floaties in the pool. There are no words to describe how much they loved the freedom of being able to float and move around the pool without mommy or daddy holding and propelling them. It was a lot of fun and Calem is still asking nearly every day if we can go back to the "hotel with the swimming pool." He got to the point where he would jump into the water, unassisted, and hold his breath as his head went under water. He didn't fear putting his face in the water and just loved it. We've arranged for him to take real swimming lessons one-on-one with a teacher from the YMCA this summer. I think he'll do real well since he doesn't seem to fear the water at all.

Of course there was the normal share of mischief and struggles and discipline and sibling rivalry, but somehow it's all a little more tolerable when the sun is shining every day and a pristine beach is at your back door. (And, of course, I don't have to cook or clean up dinner--because we are on vacation, afterall)

[A lot of the time, the boys played really great together, but you can see by these photos how quickly mischief can happen...]

Our Stay-cation

For Labor Day weekend we decided to take a little road trip down to Columbus. We figured it's a fairly short drive--one where the natives wouldn't get too restless-- and with Scott's incredible Priceline abilities, it wouldn't cost much.

So, off to Columbus we went. Calem was most excited about staying in the hotel. Isaac was just thrilled that he got a new book to "read" in the car. I guess it's because they didn't know the fun their parents had in store for them!

On the agenda: A trip to the Columbus Zoo, A fun day at COSI, and a visit to a small cave.

The zoo:

Columbus has an impressive zoo. The exhibits are organized and clean and the habitats are so nice for the animals. They really have a lot of animals. But the favorites on this trip were the penguins, the Lorikeets--or "colorful birds" as Calem called them--and the kangaroos. Another big treat at the Columbus zoo is an area with small, animal-themed kiddie rides. Zoo food cannot be raved about, but my kids are pleased as punch to call a package of "cheezy crackers" and a juice box lunch and be done. I always pack aforementioned items and lickety-split, we just saved ourselves 12 bucks on overpriced, overprocessed chicken nuggets and fruit-punch. Anyway, we always count it a good thing, when at the end of the day Calem says, "Mom, I had fun," as though he didn't actually think he would.

COSI:

Our next adventure would take place the following day in downtown Columbus. COSI has changed a lot since I was a kid. In fact, neither Scott nor I remembered anything except the huge swinging pendulum at the entrance. We think it must be a lot more fun now than it used to be. We spent a lot of time in the HUGE little kids exploration area where there was loads of fun things to climb on, slide on, get into, jump on, touch, touch, touch!!!!!!! Isaac favored the giant water table with it's gentle flow and surprising fountain features. It was tough to pull him away. Calem became very focused on "fixing" a pretend sink in a pretend house and made sure to use every tool available before deeming it "done." When we finally convinced them there was a lot more fun stuff to see, we were able to explore the rest of the science center where Calem got to go inside a simulated submarine, complete with enough knobs, switches and buttons to make any preschooler's head spin with delight. Another favorite section was the hands-on imagination center, complete with a giant erector set, which both boys tinkered with for a very long time as well as a "ball wall" where kids could throw, shoot, slide and manipulate balls around in any way they pleased. It was a loud, boisterous room, but everyone was having fun.

Overall, COSI was a huge hit and we will for sure go back again.

The Cave:
The last stop was at Ollentangy Indian Caverns. Okay, it's a bit of a tourist trap, but with kids so little, they don't know. They just know they enjoyed petting the free-range donkeys, sheep and goats. They just know that descending down a "ton of steps" from 85 degrees to 45 degrees into darkness is something new. Calem actually loved the cave and did really well navigating the steep steps and narrow passage ways. However, this may not have been the best adventure for an 18 month old who just wants to run everywhere. Isaac felt frustrated when we insited on holding his hand and keeping him from touching the walls. His cries of protest echoed loudly through the caverns and we cut our exploration short so as not to bother the other spelunkers. It's cool to see Calem's brain work and hear him ask questions like why it's cold in the cave.

So, we found we didn't have to go too far from home to enjoy a mini-vacation with our boys. We had fun and they had fun, and that's all that counts. And they are such good little travellers. Never a whine or a cry. Just chatter, singing, coloring and laughing. I guess we'd better enjoy it before they can reach one another in the back seat and the "he touched me's...." ensue.