Kip has been on Spring Break all week and it's been so nice not to have to do the whole get-ready-drop-off drill. We had some really cold weather days but it is finally turning around and we've had the busiest weeks of day-ventures in over two years!
On Monday Mandy took Kip and Ivy to a park in a neighboring town. We've only ever been to this park when it is super hot in the summer. It was chilly this day but they had fun and got donuts on the way home.
On Tuesday it was cold again. They played outside for a little and Dan took them to the library in the afternoon. We had gone to the library multiple times over the summer but had not been back since the school year started. The librarian still remembered Kip.
Wednesday I took a day off of work and Mandy and I took the kid to the garden center. We had let Kip watch a couple of episodes of a Japanese show on Netflix called "Old Enough." The premise is little kids (ages 2-4) run errands for their parents all alone. Obviously, they aren't totally alone as multiple cameras follow them and they are in tiny little villages where everyone knows them. Anyways, it's funny and cute and also terrifying and would NEVER fly in America. But Kip was inspired by it and suddenly wanted to do things by himself, like clear his plate and put it in the dishwasher. He wanted to be able to pay for what we got at the garden center by himself so we felt like that was a fun idea. Well, once we got to the center he was pissed that we were following him and he wanted to be all alone and get whatever he wanted. It took some convincing that we can't do things like that here in America and that I needed to be able to see him. I tried to give him space and a sense of freedom but heck no was I letting him attempt to buy a flat of ground cover or a liter of hummingbird food. But we let him pick a few small things, walk around with a basket, and take the cash to pay at the counter. Overall, not a bad outing.
When we got home we played in the yard and our little neighborhood friend came over with her grandma and we did a small egg hunt and then went a played at the park to finish the afternoon.
On Thursday I took the day off again and Dan and I took the kids to Turtleback Zoo nearby in the afternoon. It was Mandy's idea to try and it was a really cool area but unfortunately it was a mob scene. I have not been anywhere that crowded since before the pandemic started. I guess it being Spring Break and the fact that it was the first warm day all week just meant chaos. Kip wanted to ride the zoo train right away so we waited in line for about 35 minutes but it was worth the wait. They both loved it.
Neither of the kids were that into the animals and Ivy only cared about eating the snacks in the wagon.
As we were getting ready to leave we ran into Kip's classmate and "favorite friend" and her mom and dad. They are the family we spent Easter afternoon with and probably the only people we can call friends in NJ (besides our next door neighbors). It was fun to bump into them and the kids enjoyed vending machine Dip'n Dots before we headed home in rush hour traffic.
I'd love to go back to that Zoo again some day but we already decided we would take Kip out of school one day to avoid some of the crowds.
I'm back at work today and Mandy is with the kids. I've really enjoyed this little break from school and a dip back into the good old days of exploring and going places. It is not without nervousness and anxious mask wearing with rising community spread in our area, but we try our best to live a little.
No comments:
Post a Comment