Fun without Mommy & Daddy (Guest Post from Grandma)

Note: This post was written by my mom, Bev (Grandma) Snyder as my parents took care of our kids for two nights so that we could go away for our anniversary. We really appreciated their willingness to take care of the kids, and it was fun for me to read about their time with our trio as they did a lot while we were gone. 

A highlight from Kendra & Micah’s trip to Michigan was the chance to have two days and two nights “up north” to celebrate their 10th anniversary. This was a great opportunity for Duke and me to make some special memories with the Howard Trio.

Before Kendra and Micah left, we wondered how the kids would do without their parents for 48+ hours (and whether we could handle it). As it turned out we had a wonderful time, bolstered by great support from Uncle Kyle, Aunt Jodi, Brayden and Adelle and Grammy (Karen Howard).

We began Wednesday morning with a long walk and playtime in the yard, plus I put the kids to work picking up crab apples out of the grass for Grandpa and throwing them into the field behind our house.  Shortly after lunch, we packed the kids into the car for their first trip to the Holland Farmer’s Market. By the time we arrived, the crowds had thinned out but there were still a couple of street musicians performing and plenty of fruits and veggies. I’m sure the kids were totally impressed by Michigan’s “fruit belt,” and I know they loved the Michigan blueberries. I probably shouldn’t have started feeding them “blues” in the stroller, but they love them so and kept asking for more!

Watching the street performer with Grandpa at Farmer's Market

Naps went well and then Grandpa introduced the kids to squirt guns, barrel-rolls down the hill and

kite-flying. After a gourmet dinner of mac & cheese, wieners with dipping-ketchup and strawberries (they ate great!) Kyle and family came by to entertain the clan with fun activities like kicking balls into treetops, hide & seek in our portable maze, and chillin’ on the patio.

Squirt guns!

Barrel rolls

Kite flying

Lexi

Faith

Jack

Jack and Lexi on the back patio after dinner

Faith posing on the patio

This maze was a great garage sale find!

Duke & I slept in the downstairs guest room both nights so we could hear the kids during the night, which was a good choice as we were joined for about an hour by Faith who awoke around 5 and snuggled back to sleep between us.

Thursday morning, after a delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes with dipping syrup (dipping is a big thing, apparently), we headed to the Zeeland Splash Pad, about 15 minutes from our house. It was fun but a TON of work and we don’t know how Kendra does this kind of outing alone. First there’s the ordeal of getting three 2-year-olds into their car seats. And once we arrived in Zeeland we did a complete wardrobe change for three in the back of the car with swim diapers, bathing suits, sun screen and sun hats. The kids loved the splash pad and mostly stuck together while playing, which made it a lot less stressful for us. Eventually the little ones were ready to bundle up and sit in the sun to warm up. We tucked them into strollers and walked down the block to the Zeeland Bakery, where we introduced the kids to sugar cookies. It was love at first bite!

Enjoying breakfast around the table

Splash pad

Warming up!

Cookies!

After naps (oops, I forgot to dress the girls in onesies, but fortunately they kept their clothes and diapers on) we were joined by “Grammy” Karen Howard and we shared another great feast – chicken nuggets and sweet potato fries.  Then Karen and I headed downtown to meet Aunt Jodi and Adelle to see the street performers while Grandpa watched a Lions preseason game and had some R&R.

The kids were fascinated by the “strumming” (especially Jack), the red-nosed mime and the circus aerial act. Adelle was a great help, pushing strollers, pointing out highlights and tossing money into the performers’ coffers. She ended the night by getting a balloon animal, which inspired Grandpa to pursue a new hobby in balloon twisting.

Watching the mime

Jack was surprised by something!

On Friday morning we had a little “monkey business” on the porch when one of the kids playfully dipped a stuffed monkey into my coffee for a sip. We took a picture of the offending monkey, then washed him in the sink and hung him to dry (by his ear) for the rest of the day by the sink, which caused some good conversation and laughs every time the kids needed to wash up for snacks and meals.

Coffee drunk monkey

After French Toast (more dipping!) I headed off with the trio to meet Aunt Jodi and Adelle at Dutch Village where the kids especially enjoyed the farm animals and petting a bunny, which Adelle held patiently in a basket. Adelle also took a goat for a walk on a leash, which was pretty amazing to the kids.They also seemed to enjoy the Dutch Dancers in their wooden shoes, but the merry-go-round was a little too scary to enjoy.

Petting a bunny with Adelle's assistance

Dutch Village

For two days and two nights, the Howard Trio outdid themselves on good behavior and seemed
completely comfortable here, although they were also extremely happy to see their parents return. We had a great time … and we were reminded again that there’s a good reason God blesses us with children when we’re young and have plenty of energy.

Thank you, Kendra and Micah, for sharing your kids with us. And thanks for coming back from your trip so we could rest up and let you change diapers, cut up meals, wrangle kids into car seats and chase them around while we recovered.