Puddle Jumpers

Per Shawna's suggestion for a great kids floaty, I went to Target today and bought a couple Puddle Jumpers for the kids. It worked really well! I can see them being really handy if I venture to take two toddlers and a baby to a pool. ;)

Tot Time Cafe

This morning we met up with our new friends (who we've played with five times now in the 10 days we've been here!) at Tot Time Cafe. Someone needs to open one in Topeka or Lawrence. There was a snack bar which featured kids snacks and lunch foods as well coffee (which was very tasty) and adult type foods. The play area was surrounded by a half wall which had a bar counter with stools around the outside so that moms can sit with coffee and talk but still keep a watchful eye. The place was big enough without being huge and didn't feel crowded to me even though there were quite a few kids. In the back corner there was a little boutique selling all sorts of homemade items. I ended up buying a binki clip for Ensley since she's been dropping or throwing hers in the car and then asks for it while I'm driving. I am not handing her a new one while driving any more with this new traffic. You pay for the amount of time you're there so I ended up paying for "all day play" for two kids which is a lower rate than one child at $15 total. Lots of stuff to do and relaxing because I could be near but not right with them. There was a little corner with chalk board walls and a picnic table too. Lots of fun! We were there for almost three hours. Definitely going back.

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Our Kids

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I can now say that I've done it. Done the unthinkable. Ridden with two toddlers for 14 hours IN A VEHICLE with a total of 17 hours on a trip in one day. And they were incredible. We rotated activities but haven't even broken out the huge bag of toys I brought yet. Snacks, activity trays provided by Jessie, kids shows and naps all made the day bearable and in the last 30 minutes even I was done (the kids were still doing well!) and we were all chanting and clapping, asking daddy if we were almost there. I am really impressed by them and it makes me hopeful for our 10 hour driving day on Tuesday. Surely that'll be a breeze.

Pretty Day in Wyoming

The Nice Restroom

We stopped at 9am after driving for 5 hours this morning. We got gas first and thought we'd park in the Cabela's parking lot to get out of our pajamas. I ran in to pee and found individual restrooms on the women's side. They were private! So I grabbed the kids and took them to get ready.

Anyways the main thought behind this story was that I let the kids go wild running back and forth and screaming. Apparently Jere heard us as he was headed to the men's area. At one point I told them to jump up and down and count to 10. I started counting and after 5, Ensley counted 6, 7, 8 and faded off. By herself. She amazes me!

Sleeping Girl