Those Chapmans – Page 244 – Out Of Their Minds Design

Attack of the Cousins! (Part V)

And finally… On Sunday we took some goofy pictures and marched down to the park! Thank you to Aunt Melanie and the little ones for making the long trek up from Ohio; we had a blast!

This is about as still as you could get Ian; everybody else behaved themselves just fine. He’s a blur in most of the other shots I tried to take in this setting. See this image larger.

Ian – “You have a lot of teeth, cuz. And how do you hold still like that?” See this image larger.

Near the park entrance, cousin Kaylee and Aunt Melanie pause for a brief photo op, before returning to slides and swings. See this image larger.

Ever try to swing with a kid on your lap and take a picture at the same time? Well, that’s what we have here, I figure I did alright. 😉 See this image larger.

Hard to believe he can climb right up a slide at his age, right? Yet his younger cousin taught him how to do it!!! See this image larger.

And then back down again! Weee! See this image larger.

Attack of the Cousins! (Part IV)

Saturday afternoon continues… when we last left them, our daring trio had made their way through plants and water… where to next?

Next we made our way to a sculpture that included some cool fountains you could interact with. But Ian missed them entirely, at least at first. Why? One word: B-A-L-L. See this image larger.

The young’ns start exploring, the adults watch from a safe distance. See this image larger.

I’ve got about 20 shots like this, looking for the perfect one; this is about as close as I got. He enjoyed this a lot. See this image larger.

A quick rest, and then off to more exploring! See this image larger.

Kaylee checks out a mobile exhibit about worms. Her face says it all! “Pfft. Not scared. Right, Mama?” See this image larger.

Up in the tree-fort, Ian’s posture again says it all. He’s smiling happily, and turning on the charm, and he’s almost tip-toing he’s being so careful. What could inspire him to such a state? See this image larger.

This girl with the glasses! He kept track of her for awhile, always peeking from around corners in a coy fashion. See this image larger.

Connor jogs through the tree fort as well, because he knows his favorite part of the trip is next! Excavation time! See this image larger.

At the base of a flat area of sand, they have cement markers that have the shapes of dinosaur bones in them. The kids all gather round to dig them up, and a volunteer comes along and buries them again. Fun stuff! See this image larger.

There’s a boy with a smile that can only be interpreted one way: “I ate enough of this stuff to crap a whole sand castle.” See this image larger.

This shot included because Dada likes artsy cropped images. See this image larger.

She’s SO cute! And Kaylee’s pretty cute too! 😉 See this image larger.

Attack of the Cousins! (Part III)

Ah and finally we get to Saturday, when we went to Meijer Gardens… I’m only going to give you the first half because there’s a lot of them, sorry!

First we stopped in the greenhouse area to check it out… these three made it look like grandchildren grow on trees. See this image larger.

Then it was off to the Children’s Garden… see that little door on the right? See this image larger.

Ian’s posture tells you here – he’s both walk-running and either laughing or at least heavily enjoying this… he tucks his chin down into his chest. Sure I missed the shot where he comes through the door on the other side, but the path re-joins the adult path on the other side anyway… Besides… See this image larger.

…THIS is the shot I wanted; where Ian sees a whole world of fun before him — pauses briefly to take the scenery in… See this image larger.

…and then off to experience the adventure! Look-at-him-go! (He’s running at full tilt here, pausing only to take in the sounds of the sculptures above, which sounded like tubular bells.) See this image larger.

An interesting moment here, he goes up this tiny little bridge, and then freezes halfway across, refusing to move on. Perhaps awaiting the Billy Goats Gruff to require a toll of him. How did he get down? See this image larger.

Once it was Mommy to the rescue, with a shy smile of gratitude… See this image larger.

… and the other time he remembered “when in doubt, skootch!” See this image larger.

The Children’s Garden has a scale model of the Great Lakes, down to their relative sea levels… so kids can watch the lakes empty out into each other. The lowest lake was the perfect height for toddlers to mess around in. Here Kaylee gives Ian the “this if fun, but cold!” face. See this image larger.

Ian enjoys playing in the water and splashing around… it took everything Mama could muster to keep him out of the lake. See this image larger.

“Woohoo!” See this image larger.

Mama helps Ian investigate a whole wall of water… results of analysis? It’s wet. See this image larger.

Cousin Connor gives us a genuine smile to remember, aboard the S.S. Landlubber. See this image larger.

Kaylee and Aunt Melanie back-up the earlier theory about the water-wall! See this image larger.