Staycation and other summer activities

Our daycare closes two weeks of the year (a week in July and a week in December) so we had all three kids at home all week for a little staycation. Darren took a few days off work and we did a ton of activities around Cleveland. Here's what we've been up to during our staycation and the rest of the summer!

• Visited Darren's grandma's farm and hung out with the cows, great grandma, grandma, his cousins and their kids. 
  
• Took the kids to Bay Village's Science Center and looked at all the animals there and then took a (brief) hike on the nature trail 
  
• Walked around the Botanical Gardens indoor exhibits (darn you rain) and played with their various kid friendly activity centers 
  
• Learned how to make scrambled eggs with toddlers. The lesson went something like this, "good job, keep stiring!" "DON'T TOUCH THE PAN!" "Good job! What a good cook!" "DON'T TOUCH THE PAN!" 
  
• Set up the sprinkler and kiddie pool outside. Despite the heat, I put sun shirts on them because of their vampire skin. Sun is not our friend. 
  
• Ventured downtown to say hi to my coworkers. B&B were fascinated by the big buildings. 
  
• Left the kids with my parents and went on a fun date night with 41 North Kayak. The trip started at Whiskey Island and we paddled to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It was really cool, you can paddle right under the building. We also paddled out to the lake to test our skills on some of the waves which I assumed were four feet high. The instructor said maybe a foot and half to two feet. What does he know? :) 
• Found the best place for kids at Fairview Park's splash pond. What a haven for small children. 
  
• Watched the July 4th parade outside my parent's house (Brooklyn was so scared of the loud noises! We had to take her inside) 
  
• Took the older kids out on the lake on paddle boat at Camp Mackintosh 
  
• Enjoyed an outdoor picnic with the Little Tikes table I bought off Craigslist 
  
• Ate ice cream at the summer social for our Twins Club 
  
• Hung out at the park 
  
• Hiked in MetroParks 
  
• Let the water splash on our toes at the beach
  
• Fed the ducks at the marina 
  
• Hid from the sun (#vampireskin) at a cookout at grandma and grandpa's 
  
• Watched Frozen and Bubble Guppies. So much Bubble Guppies.