Des Moines or Bust!

With a  forced day off for me due to school getting out on a Thursday and me not having much luck in finding a day camp both boys could attend last Friday we opted to take advantage of the 3-day weekend and get away!

I have been wanting to get the boys to Adventureland the last few years but it hasn't worked out.  This was the recipe for a quick getaway - 3 day weekend + 3 hours from Lincoln + 3 attractions to visit + 1 week before Memorial Weekend (ie. other schools still in session and shouldn't be too busy).

We left the house Friday morning and headed straight to the Science Center of Iowa in Des Moines.  I'm an advocate of using memberships that reciprocate with other attractions. Our Morrill Hall membership allowed us admission into the Science Center at no charge.  There were some school groups at the Center but they were not too noticeable.  We did sit in on a 'chemistry class' and the boys were able to each partake in 1-2 experiments each.   Ralph assisted with two experiments on the stage and Henry's participation was done at his seat.

Following the Science Center we went to The Playground for Kids in Ankeny not too far from the hotel.  It had various bounce houses/slides and an indoor play structure.  The boys had fun for about 45 minutes but when there's only 3 other kids and they are younger there is only so long one can play.

We went to the hotel and got some pool time in before supper which turned out to be a good idea; after supper the pool was a bit more busy with high school kids in the area for the state track meet nearby.

Saturday morning we arrived at Adventureland well before opening with tickets in hand.  Unfortunately since we already had our tickets we didn't get a chance to pick up a map at the ticket window so once the doors opened we were not entirely sure where we wanted to go.    The doors opened at 10 am and we went past the little building fronts at the entrance to the ride.  We stopped at one ride thinking it would be a safe choice.  Well, we found out it went a bit too high for someone's liking.

Our next few rides were bumper cars, convoy (semi trucks chained together like a train that rode on a track), and another kiddie ride.  We kicked it up a notch and went with the Scrambler, the Underground, Lady Luck, and the Raging Rapids.

Unfortunately our tube seemed to get stuck under a water fall for longer than it should have ~ we came out more wet than we started.  Henry does not like being in wet clothes and would have left to go back to the hotel if he had a vote.  Since we were already wet we went on the Splash a new water ride where we sit on a circular raft but it was more calm in that it didn't have the waterfalls and raging river but there was still some wetness involved - mostly in the bottom in the ride where there was a few inches of water built up.  After this ride we had to take off Henry's shoes and socks and ring out his socks.  The Outlaw was the next closest ride.  Henry was maybe an inch and half past the minimum height and was game to try it.  He loved it.

After lunch we hit a few more rides including a relaxing ride across the park on the Sky Ride, the Giant Skywheel, and the Tilt-a-whirl.

While Mike and Ralph were on the Sky Ride, Henry and I rode the Galleon a/k/a the Viking Ship in my mind (that innocent looking ship that just goes back and forth, back and forth, a little higher each time).  We rode it once, sitting in the same row as an older lady who wasn't expecting the ride to feel like it did; we sat out the next ride due to timing, and were back on again for another time after that.  I'm thinking once is probably enough for me on that one.  Mike rode it later with Henry and was fine too . . it's that 2nd or 3rd time that is likely too many.  Mike and Ralph got into the carnival type games in the afternoon winning a few prizes. Henry and I played one round of the "horse races" (spraying a water on on the target to make the horse run) and won by default since we were the only two playing.  The big pencil was the result of throwing a ring that landed on a soda bottle.

We watched a "glow" (black light) magic show near the end of our day.  Because it was before Memorial Day the crowd was light; the rides had minimal wait times - sometimes just waiting for the current ride to finish; sometimes a bit longer but nothing too long.  Mike and I would usually switch off riding so someone could take photos (and protect the camera on those wet rides).  It was a fun day.

Sunday morning we went to the Blank Park Zoo before heading back to Lincoln.  It was our 3rd trip.  It's a great little zoo . . .

It was a great little getaway to celebrate the end of school before the craziness of summer really hits!

Ralph: Another Year in the Books!

I'm not sure how he did it considering what he does and does not eat but it appears Ralph grew nearly a brick.

Ralph had a great year in 2nd grade.  He enjoyed his teacher, Mrs. Mac, and her alter ego Billy Bob. Ralph enjoyed being a "professor" sometimes where he'd get to go to the board and explain how to do a problem.  He really enjoyed the "no homework" passes and redeemed all he could the last few weeks of school - he didn't plan so well and still had one left at the end of school.

In an effort to keep Ralph and a few other kids challenged with their spelling words, Ralph's spelling words were considered "6th grade spelling words" from the website "www.homespellingwords.com"

The photo below was a bit staged.  Here he is coming out of door #17 for the last time as a 2nd grader!

Henry: Kindergarten Graduate!

What a difference 9 months makes!  Sure, Henry grew nearly a brick but he also grew leaps and bounds academically.  I would have loved to have be a fly on the wall more than once to observe Henry in the classroom.  He may have spent a handful of times in the safe seat, he may have visited the buddy room at least once but they were only done in an attempt to get him back on track to be a better listener and to help him remember he needs to follow directions the first time.  Hopefully the foundation has been set for less time in the safe seat next year!  Even with his occasional misbehavior he won over his teacher and classmates with his unique personality.

He is very lucky in that reading has come very easily to him.  Kindergartners need to have achieve a level 4 DRA by the end of Kindergarten, Henry scored a 24 on his last assessment and to achieve a higher score he would have needed to write answers to specific questions concerning the story vs just reading a story.  He and another student would get to go to the library occasionally during reading time to do "tumble books" on the computer.

Henry hardly ever talks much about his day or who he hangs out with.  I accompanied him on a field trip to the Lincoln Children's Zoo earlier this week.  I found out from another mom there are 4-5 girls lined up to marry Henry.  I found out from another mom earlier this week her daughter really wanted to invite Henry to her birthday party but they had limited it to the girls in the class only.  I also heard from a dad a few months back the kids on the playground were "fighting" over Henry - those in his class vs another boy he knew before Kindergarten.  All signs point to him being well liked.

As I was waiting for Henry to come out the doors this afternoon I was thinking back to 9 months ago.  I was thinking about how shy and apprehensive he was not at all sure about this new adventure that was about it begin . . .then I see THIS come out of the doors.  Our youngest hamming it up to the max!  I can only guess the memories his teacher will carry with her.

Henry and Mrs. Peterson