Summer Fun {Finding Neverland}

About a ten minute drive from our house along Lake St. Clair is the former Edsel Ford Mansion.  The home and grounds are now open for tours, weddings, and other events.  This summer they were hosting character weekends with a Neverland theme.

I didn't know anyone that had been to the event, so I wasn't sure how age appropriate it was.  But it was right on the money!  You were given a map to help you find clues and hidden letters that would eventually make a word and you could turn in to receive a prize.  Lauren and William can't read, but with us reading the clues, they could find them!  Along the way we met Wendy and Tinkerbell...pixie dust away!!

One of the little cottages on the grounds were transformed into the Darling's home.  It also included a pirate/peter pan room and mermaid room where the kids could dress up.

 We also got to step inside Tinkerbell's house!

Behind her house were missing shadows, games, and a craft!

 While looking for the clues, Lauren became very interested in finding the mermaids...wouldn't you know, there was an actual mermaid lagoon!

 

 Look closely, I think there is one hiding way back there;)

Enjoy your Sunday!
XOXO

Aubrey

Summer Fun {Ooh La La Beauty Salon}

Remember when I surprised Lauren with some pampering at the Ooh La La Beauty Salon?

She has wanted me to recreate that afternoon for awhile now, but with friends.

Billy was out of town and a few other dad's were away, so it seemed like a great time to host a few girls for a little salon fun!

 The set up was simple but impressive to the girls (and Wills).  I snipped a few flowers from our garden, picked up a bottle of sparkling lemonade and had chairs for them to sit in while they waited for their "appointment."

Enjoying a beverage before the fun began!

 This time I made the banana and honey mask that Fancy Nancy references in the book and we applied it while they were "relaxing" with cucumbers on their eyes.  They enjoyed the mask for all of five minutes, but I think it added to the whole experience:)

While soaking their feet they got to enjoy a parfait...also part of the story and a touch Lauren wanted me to include.  But again, so easy.  Vanilla yogurt, fresh fruit, and granola.

 They picked the color they wanted and the mom's painted away! 

  Red, purple, and pink piggies for all the little ladies and Wills too!

Maybe next year we'll add manicures;)

XOXO

Aubrey

Summer Fun {Greenfield Village}

As promised, another post from one of our favorite places.  

Greenfield Village never disappoints and even though we've been there a ton, we keep finding something new on each visit!

 On this visit we rode the Model T cars for the first time, I'm not sure why I bypassed this before, as the wait wasn't too long and the kids loved riding in the old car.

There is also a new playground that just opened last fall.  The kids could have stayed there for a good part of the day.  It's designed to resemble a 1930's construction site, but has so much of what kids want today.  The boiler below is interactive and sprays and mists water depending on what you touch, and what parent doesn't love the rubber surface for safer landings!

William had great aspirations to conquer this rock wall, but it wasn't working out for him.

Kids seemed to be hovering around this hand pump water station.  I wish I had snapped a large picture showing how the water travels down through the wood basin.  The whole playground was very interactive and a great addition to the village.

It was just the kids and I on this trip.  We've gone solo, in a small group, and in a large group.  We always have fun, but the visit seems more special when it's just us.  We seem to get to see more and I get to enjoy the one on one time that can sometimes be lost when we're home and a zillion things start to distract me.

Because it was just us, there was time to stop and smell the flowers.  The gardens outside the chapel were beautiful!

Puppet show!

And of course, the carousel ride!  

Lauren picked a rather famous horse...one that Clint Eastwood (we were told) took a ride on!

And of course, a stop for ice cream!

Posting these pictures and reliving our visit has me wanting to head back this fall.  It might just be a trip for Wills and I, with Lauren at school.  Shhhh, don't tell her!

Thanks for letting me share our day at Greenfield Village again!  

You can see other visits here, and here

XOXO

Aubrey

Summer Fun {Park Life}

Worst blogger...blah, blah, blah.  

I've missed posting about the our happenings, but really felt like I didn't know what to say.  I mean, how many times can I post about a trip to Greenfield Village?  Well, don't worry, I can post at least one more, stay tuned.  But with summer exiting and school starting, I felt like getting back into it.  Kindergarten starts next week and preschool right after...if not for you, I need to do it for them.  That's why I started this. 

So, I'm going to bombard you with some summer fun posts all week in anticipation for the big first day of school post next week!!

Thanks to our move back to Grosse Pointe, we are blessed with a few parks that have a community pool and splash pad.  We have spent a lot of time there, making those tax dollars count!

William has grown up a lot this summer, I can see it in his face and even a recent height check...almost 1.5 inches taller since March!  But also socially too, he's much more opinionated with what he can and can't won't do.  And is most definitely holding his own with Lauren these days.  

And he is quite the little fish.  We have said all summer that he looks like he is drowning every time he jumps in the water, but whatever he was doing has got him starting to swim on his own!  This was the first day he started floating, ignore my painfully annoying voice!!

And my other fearless fish has been all about friends this summer.  Wanting play dates and more play dates and meeting a new friend at the pool if there isn't anyone she knows.  I think she is more than ready for the first day of school next week because she loves being around other kids.

Most of the time they love being around each other, and as the gap starts to close I see them getting closer and closer.  I wonder if William is going to miss Lauren when she is at school all day or if he will be happy that he has me and the house all to himself?  Maybe a little bit of both!  Because don't let the picture fool you, that switch can flip real fast!

 

 

 We've got less than a week and the we'll be putting our sunscreen away, I just hope we aren't pulling out sweaters just yet!

XOXO

Aubrey