Playin' Around Town: Going Bonkers

Last week, my friend Randi told me about an opportunity to participate with a group that coordinates free kid events around the Metroplex. In return, Moms visit the event sponsors on site and follow up with a brief survey by e-mail afterwards. It looked like a good deal that didn't require too much effort on my part (a bonus!), so we signed up right away.

For the first event, we went to Going Bonkers, a giant indoor play structure for kids. My big kids are in a weird life stage -- they're young enough to still love indoor playgrounds, but they're often too big to fully enjoy them (or to not be an intimidation to the other smaller kids playing there). Sadly, I think we've officially reached the end of our "playing at Chick-fil-A" days, so on that note, I was worried that they would be disappointed by the play area at Going Bonkers, or that I would be disappointed by having to drag my (weeping, wailing, teeth-gnashing) too-big children to the car. The advertising guaranteed fun for ages 4 to 104 (with a special play area for those 3 and younger), so we took a risk and went -- it was free, after all! Happily, thankfully, they weren't disappointed and neither was I.

The play structure was open and airy, made of netting instead of the enclosed plastic tubes. Both kids could stand upright and walk in some areas instead of having to stoop or crawl everywhere. There were places for climbing, obstacles to overcome, slides to enjoy. (My laptop and I appreciated the free Wi-Fi.) They played and played and were dissuaded only by tummy rumblings, and what we anticipated would be an hour or two of exploration turned into more than four hours of absolute fun.

Homeschool Co-op: Donuts with Dad

James joined us the homeschool co-op this week for Donuts with Dad, a special time set aside to honor all the homeschooling fathers with breakfast pastries and prayers.

James is an integral part of our homeschooling process. While he may not sit down to teach a lesson on long division or the function of a conjunction, his care for and support of us are vital. Without his support, we would have never begun homeschooling, and without his encouragement, we would likely often opt to quit. Thank you, James, for supporting us, for praying for us, for holding us accountable, and for pressing us on.

Wordless Wednesday: Footie Jammies/Bumbo Chair

Brystol, Ten Weeks Old

The End of an Era

James celebrated his 39th birthday this year, a surprisingly remarkable event. This birthday seemed to mark the end of an era. It seemed to be less about wrapping up the thirties and more about staring down the forties -- a nail in the coffin of his youth, if you will. This birthday was probably the mopiest ever.

To cheer him up, we celebrated James by spending very little money. (For some reason, James' happiness level increases in direct correlation to my decreased spending. Very interesting...) The kids and I made chocolate cake balls and we gave him funny birthday cards, Dallas Cowboys paraphernalia, and complete control over the weekend plans.

James used his power wisely, and we continued celebrating at Freebirds in Arlington where James had a monster and made himself happily miserable. We drove around Cowboys Stadium watching tailgating Aggies out in the cold rain. We considered picking up some tickets to the game, but opted for coffees and couches at home instead (a decision we felt even happier about when the Aggies lost). The rest of the weekend was a blur of football and lounging and napping and lazing -- so great!

Making Cake Balls for Dad


Rolling Away


Sweets


Happy Birthday


Make a Wish!


James --
We love you.
We appreciate you.
We hope this year is fuller and richer
than the 38 before it.

Happy Birthday!

Pick of the Patch

We took our newest lil' pumpkin out for her first trip to the Pumpkin Patch. We opted to go early in the season hoping to avoid the crowds and the illnesses that come with them. The dreary, rainy beginning of fall caused our favorite Pumpkin Patch to close for the day, so we stopped in at the smaller neighboring field where I took 9,637 photos for four good shots. At least one pair of socks got ruined, Brystol cried a fair bit, the kids complained about the sun burning out their retinas every time I instructed them to say "cheese," and we all left covered with mud and hay.

Ah, precious memories.


-- The Four Good Pictures --





Brystol Channeling Her Inner-Chef Boyardee


Who You Callin' Pumpkin?


-- The Pumpkin Patch Rejects --


Happy Fall, Y'all!