July 4, 2012

We started our day with breakfast at Bob Evans.  The food is okay, but mostly I like it because its similar to Friendly's.  Our kids can be a little unruly and no one seems to mind, the backs of the booths are higher so there's a minimal desire to climb or fling themselves over the side and they have high chair style booster seats, so Ani Rose can sit next to her family and join in on all the food.  Norrin gets mad when I sit her next to Todd, but he also gets mad when she starts stealing food off his plate. She's better behaved next to her Da.  She has a lovely bond with him and when they share a meal, its like watching a well choreographed dance. 

 After breakfast, we decided to make the trip to Grounds For Sculpture.  This was a very last minute decision, but we had a bottle of water, some sunblock and a couple of hats in the car, so we just decided to go for it.  We were all flushed and sweating and we must have gone through ten bottles of water between the four of us, but this place with all its beautiful sculptures and gorgeous landscaping seems to make us quite happy.  Todd is getting better at finding the most amazing angles to photograph both the art and our children, which made it virtually impossible to choose just a few pictures. 

Mama and the Wild Ones...Norrin with butterfly net in hand...as always.

 Ani Rose showed me exactly where she wanted to go.

 I love how Norrin just decided to stick his feet in the fountains- shoes and all.

 Norrin also felt free to open his mouth and drink the water coming out of the misting walls...yuck.

 Norrin looks for green signs that say you can respectfully touch the artwork...or as his four year old mind has translated it- climb all over it like a little monkey.  Ani Rose has decided that if he can do it, so can she.

Lots of trees to climb...when he wasn't climbing the sculptures.

 Ani Rose liked the sculpture you're encouraged to bang on with metal sticks.

 A little nursing break- gotta keep hydrated on a hot day :).

The kids passed out in the car and as soon as we got home, we piled into our little pool.  Todd grilled some burgers and hot dogs for dinner then we went to Sesame Place to see if we could see the fireworks.  We had an obstructed view of 5 minutes worth of fireworks, but the kids enjoyed it.  I got glow bracelets and glow necklaces at the dollar store and Norrin decided that Ani Rose wanted him to wear them all :).  Norrin snuggled with me while Ani sat in a lawn chair all by herself.  She is such an independent girl.  Sometimes I feel like I should mother her more, but she's like a cat...she decides when she needs something from us. We packed a lot of stuff in one day and my body was not happy with me the next day, but it was so wonderful to spend that much time together as a family.