December 29

Day 2 of puke-free house. Is it possible that this virus will pass over the rest of us? I certainly don't want to jinx it, so let's pretend I never wrote that.

Poor Lily caught Daisy's cold, though, and is pretty miserable. I think there were maybe 45 minutes during the night that Lily wasn't fussing or nursing. It was exhausting. That, plus two sick children, plus the risk of spreading this stomach virus kept us home from church this morning. It was probably a good choice. But by the time afternoon came and naps were over, we were all a little bit stir-crazy.

I suggested that Chris take Caleb on a special outing to the Butterfly House, because Caleb seems to thrive when he gets some special time each day. But surprisingly, Caleb wasn't interested. Fifteen minutes later, Caleb announced, "I changed my mind. I'd like to go on an adventure, after all. I want to go to the Botani-full Garden!"

So I said yes. Why not? So what if it was 3:00, we were all still in our jammies, and the Garden (which I remembered closing at 5:00) was 30 minutes away? Yes.

So we all threw on clothes, brushed our teeth, and hopped in the car. Ten minutes into the drive, I thought to double-check the Garden's hours on my phone. Oops. They close at 4, and it was... 3:46. Surprisingly, Caleb took the bad news pretty well. But Chris and I were left to come up with an equally entertaining, equally free option, someplace close. 

We settled on Turtle Park.

We should have checked the weather first; it was 26 degrees, with a wind chill of 10 degrees. Oops. Luckily, the kids didn't seem to mind.

They took off running for the turtles! Caleb remembered having been to this park once before, even though it was well over a year ago. I love his little memory!

However, he was very nervous when Chris started climbing the turtles!

Sweet Lu! She's chewing on everything these days, including my zipper. I thought for sure she'd be warm enough in the Ergo, inside my coat, wearing a hat.

It was right about here when I realized that it was so cold that my face hurt. That can't be good for babies. So I snapped a few more photos, then called our adventure off.

A family climb! Don't they look like mountain climbers, successfully summiting a peak?  Looking at this picture, Caleb thought they must be climbing a pig. No, no, dear boy. I believe that is a soft shell turtle. 

Goodness, it was cold out!

And then I swiftly ushered everyone into the car, and we stopped at a nearby gas station for hot cocoas all around. (Except for poor Lily. But I doubt she was as cold as the rest of us!)

We made one more stop on the way home, to see one of Caleb's favorite things: 

Tow Mater!

A local auto body shop has turned an old truck into a real-life Tow Mater. Someone told me about it at least a year ago, but it took us until today to make it there. Caleb was delighted! He informed me that he wants to print out this picture and take it to preschool after winter break to show all of his friends. What a sweetheart!