Online VBS

We signed up for "Virtual VBS" through Nana and Pop's church this year. 

It's just not the same.

I sat with Shane to do some of it. He's so social and just "sitting and getting" isn't really his style.

I was hoping to take Shane and work at the VBS at the Baptist church we went to a couple of years ago. Shane had to go to Nana and Pop's church last summer when he stayed with them and we moved into the new house. The pandemic put the pause on those plans this year.

It was a bummer, but at least there was something. A low bar this year should make next year more fun and meaningful.

SC Day #4 - Puzzle Quest 2

I wanted a breakfast burrito, but got a Shane burrito instead. Mommy wrapped him up while he was watching morning cartoons.

He didn't stay wrapped up for long. Shane wriggled out and found a toy fishing rod.

He got Indy's attention by attaching her ball to the end of it. She'd go running whenever he cast out!

In lieu of a playground today, the kids played at Nana's.

They all piled around the beans in the beginning (Indy included!).

Cole and Shane broke off from the pack.

Shane wanted to show Cole his new fishing game with Indy.

Pop introduced wrestling to the bean room. He's both playing with Evelyn and working to increase her toughness tolerance!

Nana calmed Shane down momentarily with a magnet art toy.

Shane has a tendency to get mesmerized by whatever he's into. Cole was less enthused.

The children rejoined for fort building.

I miss pipeworks from when I was a kid (some of the best toys ever!).

Cole was grounded from video games for being rude to his mom at the zoo on Monday. Apparently, that didn't include TV shows. The girls were watching something and the boys moved in. Shane and Cole never stop talking. I don't think either one is really listening to the other, but they're both happy to chat away regardless.

The girls all flocked to Kathleen. I think it's more that they're a fan of her than they're opposed to the talking boys. Ka wasn't too into the show and the narration surrounding it. When she left, the girls left!

I don't remember if it was today or the day before, but I introduced Shane to Puzzle Quest 2 after his writing. I really enjoyed the puzzle quest games. I thought the 2nd one was easier, but I also liked it a little better than the original since it was a little less random with bonus turns from matching. Turns out, Shane likes them, too. It made for an easy, not entirely mindless electronic game for him to play during nap.

Shane dressed up for VBS after nap. I don't really know why they had different color themes, but he was ready for whatever it was.

Shane likes to get dizzy. I don't and I get dizzy watching him.

Carrie and I went out for a date night this time. We went to K-Town for Korean/Japanese food. They didn't have gimbap, but the food was delicious. We came home stuffed and we still had plenty of time before Nana, Pop, and Shane returned from VBS near 9 PM! Aligning our trip for VBS was a great idea!

SC Day #3 - Church and VBS

Shane went with Nana, Pop, and Cole to church and Sunday school. Carrie and I hung back and tried the Methodist church by the house (We'd been there for Christmas service before).

We all met up for lunch at Arby's after!

It was a good pick by Carrie. It was halfway between where we were, was quiet, and Pop was holding on to coupons (I felt a little bad that I ordered something there wasn't a coupon for!).

Shane started to 'help' Cole eat his food at one point. 

Carrie offered to pick up the kid's meal milkshakes for the boys.

Pop swapped the milkshakes out with drinks when the boys weren't looking. They guessed who to blame at first sip!

Playgrounds have been a recurring theme this trip. There was the zoo on Friday, Legacy Park on Saturday, and Cole's school playground on Sunday.

Odd note: My camera turned a picture green for some reason.

But only one.

But back to the unfolding tale. Shane wanted to visit Cole's school playground and Cole wanted to show it to him.

We raced there without Pop realizing we were racing. Carrie told me to "Go straight!" without warning. I did and the race was on.

Our alternative path won (barely! We saw them as we scooted through the light).

I find the roads around Nana and Pop's to be strange. You can tell many are older roads that once went to farms. They're two lanes, no shoulder, windy, and slow. Only you turn around the bend and suddenly there's a huge housing development with one entrance. Pop calls the area a boom town. It feels like construction has happened everywhere but the roads. There are more people and buildings than there are lanes and ways for people to get from building to building.

I know that doesn't quite fit the pictures at hand, but I took a lot of pictures.

Shane discovered a tree and started to climb near Nana. That worried Carrie. She made him come down.

My family was all climbers. Nana talks about how it used to scare her to the point she couldn't watch. "Then they started using the top of the swing set as a balance beam. I'd look out from the kitchen and they'd be walking back and forth!" she said.

All very true (and fun!), but it didn't help Carrie's anxiety. Cole's not a climber, so I told Shane to stick to activities he could share with his cousin to be kind.

Carrie and I left shortly after. That would let the boys play and her nerves settle. Shane has inherited the daredevil from my side of things. Carrie worries he's inherited her proclivity to accidents and injury, but so far he hasn't had any stitches or major scars like I had by this age.

Shane had to work on his writing practice again during nap time.

I love how deep in thought he looks......to write four sentences.

Getting to watch Mommy play World of Warcraft is a huge motivator. Carrie's been fully bit by the bug. I'll come into the room and she'll already have been playing!

Nana and Pop left early (after 4 PM) for final classroom preparations. They were going to be teaching the three year old's VBS class with Evelyn. Nana was a little worried, because Shane was saying he didn't want to go to VBS. I told her not to worry. He'd done the same thing for our VBS and then didn't want it to end! His current level of protest was lower than what I'd experienced last week.

I brought Shane (and Nana's forgotten jewelry) around 6:45 PM. "You might want to bring Shane early," Nana had said.

Ha! Of course I wanted to bring him early! Take my child! Go play, Shane!

There was a slight hiccup when we were told Shane wasn't registered. Nana appeared and smoothed that out. Kathleen and her crew all showed up, as well.

To Shane's surprise, she pulled off his shirt right in the sanctuary and said, "Here! Put this on!"

Shane acted shy, but Nana had no time for that! She shoved him into his shirt and off they went!

I returned home to have a quiet night with Carrie. We ate leftovers and played World of Warcraft with Genevieve and Chris.

Nana, Pop, and Shane got home around 9 PM. Shane was amped. He's a raging extrovert. Nana heard him flopping around in his bed all pumped from having fun at VBS and having trouble sleeping because of it.

VBS Day 4 - A new park!

Shane insisted on wear his hat neither forward or backward this morning. "We'll see how long it lasts when sit in the car and can't lean your head back on the seat," I said.

He tried for about three seconds and then discarded it. I was curious if he'd remember when we got to VBS, but it remained forgotten.

It's been a fun week. Shane started off anti-VBS and I caught him panting with excitement about something when I picked him up today.

I got him to pose with his new VBS shirt. Carrie picked it up and dropped it off on Wednesday while I was at putt-putt with the youth.

We came home to a big surprise. Mommy wasn't home. Neither was most of the junk on our side porch! She was on her second dump run of the day.

Shane acted excited, but I was the one who really appreciated it! We worked on cleaning up dishes and around the house to show our gratitude.

I took Shane to Greenleaf park to meet up with Sam's family in the afternoon.

There were trees. Shane's motto is "gotta climb them all."

ALL of them.

He's good at it, too.

Sam's family was late, so Shane climbed to his heart's content. Carrie's going to hate these pictures.

Same showed up after not too long. He's not into climbing. Shane wanted to brag from the treetops, but I called him down.

The two of them jogged straight off to the spray park together.

I'd forgotten to have Shane change into a swimsuit before we came.

It was plenty hot out, though.

He'd dry in no time.

I took a lot of action shots as the kids ran around.

They enjoyed experimenting with increasing water pressure.

Shane laid down on the sidewalk to dry off.

When Sam inquired, Shane pulled him down and started to wrestle. Shane's an incredibly physical kid. He's not violent. He just seems to crave physical contact. 

That and climbing trees.

Sam had no interest in the climbing. He enjoyed the playground equipment much more.

Sam remembered the whirl-go-round I took him and Shane to. He wanted "top speed."

Unrelated to the whirly-go-round (yet my next picture), Shane managed to trip over his own two feet on concrete. He skinned both his knees including re-skinning away one scab for the third time in less than two weeks (maybe it'll be scar at this point).

Shane, Sam, and Toby finished the day by exploring all over the grounds.

Which worked for Kate (Sam's mom) and me. The boys dried off in the heat before we called it quits.

We spent over two hours out in the heat. I bet all the boys slept soundly!