I love my big boy bed!

Summer is winding down and we have been taking it easy the last few weeks. Last weekend, we took down Buddy's crib. (Don't get me started, on how sad that was...) He had been jumping out of it again (since we lowered the mattress to the floor about a year ago). So,we set up Punky's toddler bed for him. So far, Buddy has done great! He hasn't fallen out and he isn't getting out at bedtime. The mornings are another story. The last two weeks, I have been woken up anywhere from 5:30-7 by the sound of his little feet scurrying down the hallway. He is usually clutching 3 or 4 of his buddies and climbs into bed with us. He can lay still and watch TV for about 20 minutes, so we are pretty much up at that point. This new routine is much different than our usual 8 or 8:30 wake-up times. On top of dropping his naps, it is no wonder Buddy falls asleep quickly at night.

Taken with a flash in the dark because I couldn't figure out how else to do it.

After we had put the new room together, I found Buddy alone in his room jumping on the bed and chanting, "I love my big boy bed, I love my big boy bed, I love my big boy bed..." I am shooting myself for not getting it on video.

Here is a shot of the whole room, taken from inside the closet.

Thomas

We spent last weekend on a mini-vacation with some of our best friends.  Punky's godparents and Buddy's godparents joined us for a weekend in "Duloof".  We planned the trip way back in February or March when we saw an advertisement for a Day Out with Thomas the Train.  We decided to make a weekend out of it and were able to spend some time enjoying Duluth and Lake Superior.

I was a little nervous to take a trip with 11 people (including 5 kids with different nap schedules), but it all went so well!  We ALL had a great time!  All the kids were well behaved and the adults got a little bit of time to sneak away and enjoy each others company too.

We didn't have a set plan for Friday, but all the families ended up making it to Duluth within 15 minutes of each other.  We couldn't have planned it better!  We spent the afternoon walking around Canal Park and around the shoreline of Lake Superior.











We finished off Friday with an early dinner at Grandma's and swimming at the hotel.  The moms all went out that night and had drinks and dessert.  We had good conversations that wouldn't have happened with kids around! I somehow booked a handicapped accessible room (must've been cheaper).  So while I thought we had a king with pull-out sofa, we only got a king bed.  Luckily, we could all squeeze in after we shifted the kids around.  



On Saturday, we headed to the train station for our Day Out with Thomas.  In preparation, I sewed each of the three girls coordinating Thomas skirts.  They were so cute and we all got lots of compliments!  Of course, we were all excited to see Thomas and take a ride on the train.  There were lots of other fun events too like bounce houses, tattoos, crafts, coloring, etc.

Sir Topham Hatt

After a quick lunch, we decided to head up the North Shore.  We stopped at Gooseberry Falls to have a look around.







After another dinner out and more swimming, the guys went out and the rest of us headed to bed.  The next morning, we took the kids to a playground that we had seen while riding on Thomas.  We thought about heading home early, but the weather was gorgeous and we ended up back at Canal Park.  We had lunch and then ice cream.  We looked at a few shops and found out that a huge ship would be coming through.  I left my camera in the car, but it was really cool to see!  Punky and Buddy were more interested in playing though.

It was a great weekend spent with some really great friends.  Punky agreed that the weekend was much more fun because our friends were there with us.  Hopefully this will be the first of many trips taken together!