The Latest in Moroch Adventures

There have been a couple close calls, but I’m happy to report that the kids and I have officially survived over a month of being together every. single. moment. of. every. day.  Oh sweet summertime.  Between the arguing, whining, and pretending like they can’t hear me when I talk, we’ve actually had some great times.  The jar system has been working out well and with that along with day-to-day activities, we have:  gone to Dinosaur State Park, the beach a couple times, a touch-a-truck event, several birthday parties, my parents’ summer house many times, a handful of dinners with families, the gym a few times (always interesting with the kids by my side.  Or back.  Or front.  Or under my feet), the library a couple times, a Raffi concert, Great Wolf Lodge, raspberry picking, visit Gramma and Grandpa Duke, The Dinosaur Place a few times, and my husband’s work two times.  We have painted with pudding, squeezed in a quick round of miniature golf, eaten at “the cat place” aka Two Wrasslin’ Cats, gone to a local farm/ petting zoo, visited another local farm to get chocolate milk and feed cows, built items at The Home Depot, had friends over, gone to the science center two times, enjoyed a couple concerts on the town green, gone to Gillette’s Castle the long way via ferry, and visited a submarine museum.  We even snuck in a doctor’s appointment or five in there.  Phew.  It’s hard to believe that we have also had scheduled days home to do nothing and are home almost every afternoon to just enjoy each other and our own yard.  I don’t doubt that I’ve forgotten about half of what we’ve done on top of the listed. It honestly hasn’t been all bad so far, not even half bad.  Sure, the kids bicker nonstop and I’ve gotten hit in the head with mysterious flying shoes while driving to and from our excursions more times than I can count, but some days have been perfect, even with a bit of sibling rivalry thrown into the mix.  Our visit to the Ecotarium in Worcester, MA was just that; perfect.  Leilani picked it out of the jar for this upcoming week, but I evaluated our calendar and decided we could squeeze it in over the weekend.  It isn’t often that my husband joins us on any of our summertime adventures (something about work?  I’m not quite sure.  It’s not really in my wheelhouse).   On Friday around 10pm, I decided that we would go to the Ecotarium Saturday morning as a family.  We typically get an early start because the kids are bright eyed and bushy tailed before the sun has a chance to greet the world and naptime is a very sacred time for me come mid-day.  However, even I, Mother Moroch and Queen of Predictability, can mix it up every now and again.  I decided to be selfish and stick to my plans of heading to the gym on Saturday morning, so we didn’t end up leaving the house until mid-morning.  I was anxious about what the late start would bring and fully expected to have a quick visit in Worcester as the kids started to breakdown, since we were slated to arrive just an hour before naptime usually begins.  Not to mention that this is what I was working with as we asked the kids to get in the car…I wasn’t aware of it at the start of the day, but it turns out my kids were going to surprise me and follow my lead on unpredictability.  We ended up staying at the Ecotarium for over four hours, and the kids desperately wanted more.  The inside was your typical science center/ kids’ museum type of place.  It was interesting, engaging, and had several hands-on and unique activities.  I had heard from a couple of people how great the place was, so I was constantly on the look out for opportunities to talk up the exhibits to the kids while really trying to convince myself that it was the coolest place ever.  

(I apologize for the lack of photos portraying the amazingness that was the outside area.  I was caught up in watching the kids and playing with them that I didn’t snap many pictures.)

As if the “playground” wasn’t enough, we ventured off onto the nature trails, which I quickly discovered no one else had added to their to-do list that day.  It didn’t take long after we arrived at the pier that we discovered an alligator snapping turtle which propelled us into a hunt for more aquatic creatures.