Today was Peyton's first day of kids college, so we got up around 9 to have breakfast and drop him off. I think the separation from Hayden was a good thing at this point. Peyton has a lost in space class, and a dino-mania one. In between them he gets to have lunch with grandma in her office, since kids college is a Terra program, and the reason we're still here. It's over Thursday, we leave Friday. Thats not really a coincidence. At some point Jessica asked me if I was staying through the weekend. Psh, I saw this coming. I knew it wouldn't be all lounge chairs, and tropical drinks with umbrellas when I signed up for 27 days away from home with three kids. I knew by this time I wouldn't have any desire to stay through the weekend. Anyway, it's unfortunate that this year the ages changed and you have to be going into first grade instead of kindergarten, otherwise today might have gone slightly better.After we dropped Peyton off I took Hayden out to Marblehead. It's a cute little Ohio town right on lake Erie. There is a lighthouse, and all kinds of rocks right out on the water to climb on. It was perfect for Hayden because there wasn't really any danger in it (unless you got really close to the water- but he saw the green fuzzy stuff and said "that stuff made Calib and Grandma fall in water, I better stay away'). The rocks are rather large, and they're all very stable. We spent about 45 minutes walking back and forth, climbing up and down them, until I convinced Hayden it was so hot we needed ice cream, even if it was before lunch. We went down to the old schoolhouse and had some ice cream, and then headed back to Fremont for lunch.
Today marks the third time I've done laundry on this trip. I've also had to repaint my toe nails. I've been through a whole bottle of shampoo and conditioner, and the body wash also ran out (just to give you a little bit of an idea how long it's been since I left home). I did laundry on day Day 5 in Denali, Day 17 in Seattle, and now Day 24 in Ohio. This should be the last time before I get home, which is nice. Doing laundry on vacation kind of stinks. It didn't really eat into any time though, because by this time in the afternoon the super hot temperatures had given way to thunderstorms. It's so hot in the house, so Hayden and I took this opportunity to sit out on the front porch and stick our heads under the steady stream of water coming from the gutters.After that we went to pick Peyton up from kids college, and we got to see Calib since he is also going to kids college. I at least got to say hello to him, which was nice. Boy, do I miss Calib. Hayden hugged him and wouldn't let go. Calib found this slightly embarrassing in front of his new friends. Calib's grandpa showed up to get him, and was asking me about being ready to go home, and I didn't want to say much about it, because Calib has to stay here another couple of weeks. He won't be home until August 5th, so I wonder how his homesickness meter is.
Peyton wanted to go out and get a game for passing the FCAT, which Asa and I promised him. I also took this opportunity to get some of the boys school supplies. It's so much cheaper here than it is in Ohio, and when you have to buy 8 packages of glue sticks among other things- it really adds up. Sidenote: Here's another thing that totally bugs me, I have to buy 6 reams of copy paper. However, each week I get two Tuesday folders (now I will get three) of the same papers, because they give a folder to everyone. So, a whole set goes in the trash. This is not economical, nor good for the environment. I just wrote an email to the PTA president complaining about this, offering to help set something up. I'll buy the copy paper- but don't waste it, geesh. Anyway, Peyton got a game, I got school supplies- and because of the glazed over 'I've been on vacation way too long' look- it didn't even phase me to be buying school supplies for Hayden. Seriously, get him the heck to school.
We were supposed to go on a boat ride tonight, but thunderstorms canceled our plans last minute- and I really do mean last minute, we were in the car on our way, when we realized it just wasn't going to work. Mom decided I could have some chud spuds as consultation. Chud spuds = best food ever, for those of you who don't know. It's potatoes, cheese, and bacon. I mean, what else do you need? Nothing, really.
After dinner we were trying to decide what to do, the storms had cleared up and looked like we wouldn't have to worry about them until middle of the night. Peyton said he was tired of always going, and he wanted to stay at grandma's. Here's the problem with that: 1. Theres no AC 2. He gets bored and I have to entertain him 3. We need time to pass quickly, and sitting around won't help that. I convinced him of my theories, and he agreed to come out and go to cedar point to putt putt, grab some ice cream, and swim in the camper village pool.
The thing about Cedar Point, it's certainly no Disney, or really even Busch Gardens. But, nothing feels quite like home as Cedar Point does. Fremont just doesn't have that warm comfy home feeling to it. Part of it I'm sure is that my dad isn't here,and mom is at work alot, plus the fact that I don't really know or spend time with hardly anyone whose around here anymore. I spent 5 summers of my life there, which I guess doesn't seem like a whole lot, but they were really fun summers. Some of my all time favorite memories are Cedar Point related, so going there always gives me that comfy feeling. I'm strange, the sounds of roller coasters and screaming makes me very comfy and calm. Night time at Cedar Point is the best. And, I mean, if you're going for nostalgia, this is the place. Especially when you can still fib you're going to pick someone up and only pay the 50 cent causeway toll.
At the entrance they have all the measurements for all the rides, Peyton wanted to see what he would be able to go on in September when we visit (shhh-- nobody tell grandma it's a surprise for her 90th birthday). He was SO very close to 52 inches. We skipped the actual park this time around since the adult to kid ratio wasn't awesome, and the adults who like to ride all the coasters to kid ratio was even worse. We did putt putt, and I gotta say, now that I'm not constantly sea sick, I could have whooped Asa's butt. I smoked the boys. They THOUGHT we weren't keeping score. But come on, I'm a Sattler/Waterstraut, of course I kept score. We walked over to the hotel for some ice cream. Now keep in mind Hayden has already had ice cream once today- but he passed up the ice cream for a lemonade. I guess when you're on vacation and having lots of sweets, you eventually get your fill-- even if you're five. Then we crashed the camper village pool and swam for a little. It really cooled us off since it was such a hot day. Peyton took awhile to get in, because he complained about how cold it was. I told him the pool on the ship was a lot colder, and eventually he got in. He was all worried about breaking the rules and swimming in the pool only meant for guests. I said grandma fully condoned this kind of behavior, and he was suddenly ok with it. I mean if goody two shoes grandma says its ok, what could go wrong?
I pumped the AC up in the car on the way home till I had goosebumps so it would take a lot longer for my body temperature to rise to uncomfortably warm levels. My strategy failed though, when the windows started to get all foggy. While trying to defrost said fogginess, I looked up and saw a set of beady little eyes looking right into my headlights. I had a car directly behind me, and coming the other way, so my only hope was to try and get him inbetween the tires. Unfortunately, this was not a successful plan. The car hit a bump, I gasped, and Peyton says 'Mom, what happened?' Hayden replied 'Mom totally just made road kill out of raccoon'. I said 'Maybe I didn't' and Hayden replied 'Yea, and I was good today'. *sigh*As we continue driving, Peyton yells "MOOSE!" As a split second reaction to the news of a moose, I slammed on my breaks. The processing time of realizing I'm in Ohio where there is no wild moose took a good minute. It's part of my vacation glazed over look, you stop questioning some very obvious things- like the fact there theres no way this is a moose. To his credit though, it wasn't a barrel or a woman in a brown jacket, it was actually wild life. It was a rather large deer on the side of the road. He probably would have let me take a picture of him if I wanted to, unlike that stupid moose.
I took the Uncle Cort approach tonight with everyone's shower, and figured we were just in a pool, which means we pretty much showered. I got the kiddo's ready for bed, and cranked up all the fans. I currently have goosebumps, so I have one less complaint for the evening.
Self Taken Picture for the day: Smiles, because what else can you do at this point? Plus, Hayden really turned it around the second half of the day. He'd been on the verge of serious trouble all day up until dinner.
Homesick meter: 9. Asa was talking about home, and I was nearly in tears thinking about it. Lets have a moment of silence for me sleeping in my bed, with my pillow, in the AC and the darkness with my puppy down by my feet. Plus, Peyton told me a couple of times 'It's just, I really miss home", and Hayden response to that was "I remember home".
Up Next: Day 2 of kids college, and trying that whole boat thing again tomorrow- here's to no rain!
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