Labor Day Weekend

Paul's new job at Plasan has twice as many paid holidays as his old job! It's sort of the best thing ever. With all of our extra long weekends we travel or visit family. For Labor Day we went South to Ohio (ha!). We did our typical three hour drive, dropped off the kids, hopped in Fritz's van (which was crammed with Griffioens) and drove back to Detroit to go to the Temple. It reminded me of going on a youth Temple trip. I couldn't think of a better way to start the weekend than being in the Temple with the people I love most.

The only other thing on the docket for the weekend was to visit the Toledo Zoo. We decided to go on Saturday to ensure we didn't miss it. The aquarium was renovated and recently opened. It was spectacular! Vincent was scared at first but eventually worked up the courage to pet the stingrays and horseshoe crabs. We went on a rainy day so the crowds were kept at bay. I was glad because it gave us extra time at the coolest exhibits. Vince is on an "Octonauts" kick and loves all things sea creature. His knowledge about giant spider crabs and various other fish took my by surprise. The aquarium was heaven for him. We braved the rain and got quite a show as a result. The animals were lively as can be! Penguins jumping in the water, tigers roaring, wolves running around, the safari animals coming up close and strutting their stuff. It was the best zoo trip we've had in a long while.

That evening we played with Anna and Trace, watched a football game and, as tradition would have it, ate pizza. Things took a turn for the worse during our nighttime snack as Vince loudly protested eating because his mouth hurt. It took some coaxing, and a bit of force, to examine his mouth. He had open sores all over. The poor boy was fine earlier and then they just took over his mouth. When he woke up Sunday morning he had little spots on his Hand. Have you guessed it yet? Hand Foot and Mouth!

I'm pretty sure someone is always sick when the family is supposed to get together. Sunday dinner was called off on account of illness. I can't blame them, but it was sad. Anna decided to expose Trace so he could build up his immunity. He got it a few days later. Miraculously, Kate didn't get it! I thought my attempts at separating them were futile but it seems that distance and prayer bridged the gap and kept her healthy.

We ended up leaving early on Monday to give the rest of the fam a chance to party on Labor day. In the end, everything was called off to keep the kids healthy. A ho-hum ending to a fab weekend, but you just take what you can get, right?

Friday:

 Saturday:

Sunday:

 Monday: