I’ve been keeping a low profile in the online world for the last week or so. We decided to go up Moses Lake and visit Kevin’s family for Thanksgiving and I generally abandon e-mail, internet, and phone (save for emergencies) during that timeframe. We left Friday after school was out and came back Friday after breakfast. We were going to stay until Saturday to help cut/wrap hogs but the weather across the Blues was calling for rain and temperatures below freezing so we bailed, and so did the California crew, in order to beat the storm.
With four kids and six adults in residence together for a week it is important to stay entertained. While the adults are content to sit around the table, chat, and eat (it’s no wonder we all gain weight whenever we go home) the kids get bored with that. So here are some suggestions….
1) Launch a Rocket. – Okay, we’ll be honest, this is good for entertaining the ‘big’ kids as well as the small. Chasing down the rocket post launch is almost as exciting too… especially when it lands in a tree.
2) Practice your magic Skills – Four was the max she could ‘float’ at one time.
3) Have a party….with cake – It doesn’t have to be any special occasion, but in this case it was Jack’s 6th Birthday. I made my very first ‘pull apart’ cake, a fire truck (I still can’t write in frosting by the way) and it turned out alright. Jack got downright spoiled by his Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. I think he now has a John Deere Shirt for every day of the week and a Farmall one if he ever gets tired of green.
4) Re-grout the patio - Is that what they call it…grout? I know that’s the term for tile, but I’m not sure if it’s the same for pavers, but that’s not the point. Get those kids out there with some gravel and a miniature construction fleet and those pavers won’t be going anywhere in the near future.
5) Play board games – This seems obvious….the trick is to get the kids to play them by themselves though. With ages ranging from 3.5 to 7 it takes some work to find a game they can all play and they have to have patience for people who ‘count’ rather loosely or say things (while playing Guess Who) like, “Does your person have wiggly arms?” Sorry, Life, and Guess Who were favorites. Closely followed by War….mostly as an excuse to use the card shuffler.
6) Smash some cans – Not an obvious choice, but it entertained them for ages. One of the nephew’s also collects the pop-tops for school so they had the added pleasure of removing all the tops before smashing them.
7) Hunt Squirrels – Don’t want those little critters thinking they have free range of the walnut grove you know. It was really cute to see the kids lined up with binoculars scanning the trees. Uncle Erin had to have lots and LOTS of patience with this hunting party.. we’re talking saint-like levels. Still he managed to whittle down the herd by five over the course of the week (oddly enough those all occurred when the kids were otherwise occupied 
)
8) Blow some air up your skirt – Because it’s fun and you know it.
9) Get your Turkey On – We were there for Thanksgiving after all. While I somehow neglected to take pictures of the actual bird I did manage to capture these Turkeys…..
And there you have it folks….ways to entertain your dragons/kids during a week long vacation. Enjoy!
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