Layla, Finn, Cora and Kellan Schaefer's blog, for all the family members far and near who miss and love them...and who don't mind such a shamelessly Schaefer children-centered space.
Over the course of last week we got 14 inches of snow here: 6 inches 1 day, and then 8 inches a few days later.
I sent Renee a text, when she was in Hawaii...documenting the 6 inches of snow outside just as the second batch of 8 inches was starting to fall.
Renee sent back some pictures of the rough weather they were having in Hawaii that day, too. I thought that was rather mean, don't you? I mean, seriously now.
Anyway, back to REALITY. :)
A friend of ours is going to have brain surgery very soon. For writing the other day Layla and Finn wrote him letters of appreciation and get-well hopes.
Finn has a deflated balloon in his mouth...because... ?
14 inches of snow, followed by warm temps in the 30's and 40's, makes for VERY happy kids who want to play outside! This, in turn, makes for a very happy Mama.
Making a snow fort.
This level of outside light was around 6:00 p.m. Guys. We have almost made it. Tomorrow is March. And March is the last awful month of winter! LIGHT is returning to us! Warmth is on the way! WE SURVIVED!
Trampoline: Still loads of fun, even in snow boots and 30 degree weather! Once it was cleared of a boat load of snow, that is...
So, Jonas has a stupid amount of apple toys because of his new job. He currently has 2 computers (a Mac Book Pro, a Mac Book Air), 3 iPads (because why not? Actually, it was because of our trip out to D.C. this Christmas, on the plane, but the kids didn't get to use them after that...), and he came home a few days ago with this thing...I don't even know what you call it. It's a super large tablet that is also a computer, with a fold out keyboard and stand, etc. I guess all the cool kids use them now? ;) So Jonas showed Finn a drawing app on this machine, and Finn fell in love. He gets to draw on it when Jonas does violin lessons with Layla. Here is his most recent drawing of a volcano...he wanted me to emphasize that it's NOT DONE YET . :)
Grammy sent the kids a fun game last week called My First Carcassonne, and all 3 kids had a great time learning it! It's perfect for them because it goes quickly (this actually makes it perfect for parents too), and there aren't tons of rules to remember, so in 30 minutes you can bang out 3-4 games and have multiple winners too...haha!
For us, in round 1, Layla won 2 games and Finn won 1. Layla was clearly keeping track of this out loud and Jonas said "Yeah, but Layla, we don't keep track of who wins or how many wins we have." Haha. Wanna bet??? They are KEEPING TRACK, man. :)
3-4 times a year Layla and Finn participate in Base Camp at Fort Snelling, run through the Boy Scouts, I believe. There is a specific focus each time: last time it was outdoor survival skills, and this time it was robotics, archery, and team building games. They had a great time and were sad when I came to pick them up, which is always a good sign, right?
Cora and I dropped them off at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, then we headed to a Dr. appt for me. It was a very quick Dr. appt, so I thought it would be no big deal to bring Cora, especially considering I was so far away from anyone to drop her off for babysitting easily (due to Base Camp). Hah. That was 100% pregnancy brain talking, man. She did okay, I guess, but I got a nice little reminder of why little kids should only go to little kid Dr. appts, not adult ones. Next time I will plan better. Next time. In fact, I already have...I scheduled a babysitter for my Dr. appt and ultrasound next Thursday! Go me.
The ENTIRE day Cora asked when we were going to go back and pick up Layla and Finn. She hates being left out of things, and she is NOT an introvert, so a day alone with Mama was not up there on her list of things to shoot for. Plus, 3rd Trimester Mama is not super fun...let's be honest here.
We went back to grab the kids at 3:30 p.m., so I arrived just a bit too late to get any good photos of the kids doing archery or rock climbing (how they end every session). As soon as we got there Cora ran in, grabbed a girl she knew to be her escort, and took off to explore. I am so stinkin' curious to see what Cora decides to do with her life.
Cora and a friend, just exploring the facility.
Layla doing the classic childhood game of 4-square.
Am I right, or am I right? Maybe this was mostly girls?
Behind them, way in the back on the right, you can see the archery set up.
And to the left you can see some of the team challenge areas and ropes courses.
Finn was playing some sort of dodge ball game where the ball has to stay on the ground and you just pound it with your fist alone.
He's in the blue and white hat in the bottom right of the picture.
Behind these kids you can see the rock wall.
Layla prayed the night before that God would help her get to the top of the wall this time.
She did not, but she still attempted it, so I was proud of her...she has a bit of a fear of heights.
Every mid-winter we try to do a small family get away together, and the Edge water park in Duluth has always fit the bill for us so far. The kids LOVE it. They dream about it and plan for it and talk about it for months ahead of time. I have wondered over the past two years when we might be close to outgrowing the place, but so far we show no signs of getting there yet! Which, to be frank, I'm very grateful for: it's cheap and close! Thank you Jesus. :)
So, this overnight with 2 days at a water park for 5 people cost us $95. Guys. Vacations do not have to be insane, extreme, or killer to your budget. Mostly it just takes planning ahead to do a moderate, normal-person vacation...and if you are extremely wealthy and this doesn't apply to you, God speed and pass the blessing on down! ;) Sharing is caring!
We had a great time again this year, despite me being pretty tired from the drama of the day before. The kids hit the pool HARD this time, Cora especially. Mercy. I'm not kidding. I was exhausted from swimming with her on the first day, and on the second day from simply walking around the exterior of the pool and play things as she zoomed from one thing to the next. She is FEARLESS in water.
Layla and Finn expanded their repertoire of things they enjoy this year as well. Layla is your classic swimmer: she loves swimming lessons and learning strokes and going back and forth in the lane. Finn is your beach bum: He just wants to float around and not have people splash him too much please. Both of them branched out of this, and both of them made friends while swimming, so this was extra fun for them this year.
The view from our room down to one of the main pools. The round part on the very left? That's a whirlpool that pushes you around in a circle over and over unless you fight the current and exit. This is where Finn LIVES when we are there. He adores it. If he could be alone in it, at peace with his thoughts, I think he might die of happiness.
Looking down at the excitement before we started out day #2.
(Day #1 I was IN the pool the whole time so no pictures. Day #2 I tried to take pictures first.)
The room had 2 queen beds and bunk beds. Layla and Finn swear they have never slept better than in these bunk beds...haha. This may be true, considering how hard they CRASHED after hours of intense swimming day #1.
Layla earned a prize of Lego Girls and saved it to bring and build ON the trip.
She was sure it would be made that much better by this activity.
I hate selfies, but for two reasons I have taken this photo:
1) to document baby #4 being present also on this vacation.
2) to give a massive shout out to this swimming suit, which is NOT a maternity suit. It has been through at least 3 or 4 of these vacations and 2 pregnancies, and has been abused beyond recognition, and it's still hanging on for me! There is basically no way I could have fit into it even a few weeks later, at least that's my guess, so we're lucky we took the vacation when we did.
*side note: I can't believe this is me at only 30 weeks. I am going to get bigger for NINE MORE WEEKS. That belly, guys. When I was in the hospital on Valentine's Day they said the baby was looking great, and much more like "a baby at 32 or 33 weeks would look." Sigh. Know what that means? He's BIG. And they already told me he has a big head. Fiiiiiiine. Bring on crazy big baby labor #4. I'll see your big head and raise you my nerves of steel and drugs, thank you very much.
Finn doing his thing in the whirl pool.
Layla crossing the bridge. She is almost too tall to do this easily anymore! I can still remember her, the first year we were there, trying to barely reach the ropes with help from Jonas. Sniff. My tall, lanky girl is growing up!
Finn and his friend. Not totally sure if this kid knew he was Finn's friend... :)
No one loves to float and look up while in a pool more than Finn. For realzies.
THIS one. Running ALL OVER THE PLACE. Doing ALL THE STUFF. LIVING LIFE, man!!!
Anywhere there was a spout of water to be under, there you would find Cora.
For a girl who doesn't prefer showers at home, she sure took 10,000 showers while at the water park...
Hot tub. Finn's favorite place #2. I'm telling you, he's a total floater/soaker beach bum. :) . Just give him a sandy beach, a nice ocean view, and a pool to relax in later and he'll be fine. Cora will be out surfing with sharks the entire time. Finn gets RIGHT into the hot tub, no acclimating needed. Cora takes a while to slooooowly get used to the water. Layla may or may not ever make it because it's almost always too hot for her. I'm in between Cora and Layla...hot tubs drive me nuts after about 2 minutes.
Layla standing next to her friend, waiting for the huge bucket of water to dump on them.
I just...
I mean...
This is the ACTUAL face I get when I say "Finn, give me a nice smile."
Phase????
Twenty seven million times.
The water slides, that only Cora is not afraid of.
After we check out we go to my hell on earth, an arcade in the bottom of the building. The kids love the lights and sounds and buttons you can PRESS VERY HARD. Layla and Finn each got to play 2 real games. Cora thought she was playing real games the whole time, so we saved d$2 on her. :)
Our tradition is to check out and then go across the parking lot for lunch at Perkins before we head home. Because we like to keep it cheap the ENTIRE time. Haha. It works, though.
Finn immediately set to work drawing a chemical reaction in beakers in his drawing book...
The ever-present tongue of concentration.
Layla gets to order a treat when we go out to eat here...the other kids don't really care, but SHE does, and she remembers. This time it was a cinnamon roll. I'm pretty sure she gave herself a stomach ache from the sugar rush that came with it, but there is no way she would turn that one down. She has Mama's sweet tooth for sure.
I've got some cute video clips, but it's late and sleep is the most important thing in the world, so I'll post those later/edit this post later.
Also, the ONE thing I forgot when packing for this trip? My real camera. Let's just take a moment of silence here and now for the massive drop in taking actual photos worth looking at that has happened in Lisa's life since she got a smart phone. Sad day, guys. Hopefully baby #4 will bring me back to my senses a bit.
