Weekend Fun

We made cupcakes to take to the ladies I visit teach and our sick Relief Society President. The kids and I had fun baking and wearing our fancy aprons. Ray baked in the nude- we are very contemporary around here. ha ha The next day I had Audrey babysit sleeping Jack so I could take the big kids to the Children's Discovery Science Center. They have a new Ninja Turtle exhibit that they had a blast exploring. I can't say enough how much I love year round school. Having a month off every 3 months is the perfect break. It's much easier to plan a month of fun outings versus 3 months. I love that we get to have adventures during all the seasons of the year- not just the summer. And I love that when I take them anywhere in the fall/winter we virtually have the place to ourselves because everyone else is in school! I hate fighting the crowds!!!! I only wish that I could spend more time with Parker teaching him more about all of the amazing science concepts they have on display. At least we have passes so we can go back whenever we want.

Later that day I took the kids shopping for new shoes and socks. All the shoes that Jack has are hand me downs from Parker- he was really needing some new duds. And Ray had NO shoes to run in! And this girl is a runner! When we take her to Parker's soccer games she runs and kicks the ball with impressive coordination. But she was always barefoot! I got them each some Stance socks too and they are hooked! I wanted to take some pictures of them to send to Tanner to say thanks for working so hard to afford us these simple pleasures. Jack wasn't too into picture taking...

Since the weather has cooled down a little bit, I'm not so opposed to taking them to the park. So we went to play and run for a little while before Tanner came home with pizza and Audrey. She babysat again on Friday night so we could go on a date. I loved the evening light and the kids did NOT want to leave the park.

Trying to take a picture of all 3 of them.....

That night Tanner and I went to GameWorks to use a Groupon i'd purchased. We had so much fun playing arcade games! And all the people there were so sweet. We had a 10 hour all access pass that we were done using after 2 hours so we handed them over to these cute teenage boys and they were so grateful! Earlier, one of them joined in on our basketball competition and he was just so adorable. Apparently all the good teenage boys hang out at the arcade at the mall. :-) I loved playing a million games of SkiBall and to be honest I totally schooled Tanner. ha ha But the highlight of the night was when we played a giant game of Connect 4 and Tanner won 500 tickets! I was laughing so hard tears were streaming down my face. We lined up all 500 tickets and fed them into the ticket machine. People gathered around and cheered. It was awesome! We grabbed some dessert on the way home and ended the night with big smiles on our faces. I love date night!!!!!!

The next morning, Parker didn't have a soccer game until 11 so we had the whole morning to relax. We made a yummy breakfast, did some chores, and sat in the hot tub. It was so nice  not having to rush off!!!! Tanner took Parker and Rayleigh to the soccer game (they finally won!!) while I stayed home and Jack took a nap. When he woke up we took the kids to use another Groupon I had to an indoor climbing center for kids. I knew Rayleigh loved climbing so I wanted to give her a little challenge. Well, as you can see, she dominated the rock walls! She was totally in her element! Everyone was in awe of her sheer skill level and cheered her on when she made it to the top! She was in heaven! Parker did really well too but was not quite as brave and determined as Ray. She is such a special little princess and I'm so proud of her!!!!

"CHEEEEEEESE!"

Jack is getting brave in the water now too!

Playing with a little friend at soccer.

Parker and Ray both looked UP UP UP when the entered the climbing center! Wow!!!!

The cutest dang climber there ever was!

We tried to lock Jack in the toddler area but he was not to happy about it

These blue towers were Rayleigh's absolute favorite! She wanted to do them over and over!!!

She is so high!!!!!!!

Right next to Sender City is a Golf Shop so naturally, Tanner wanted to go in. In the back there was an area where you can evaluate your swing. Holy cow, Tanner can hit the ball with such force. He's getting really good at golf and it's nice to see him grow into a fun and sustainable hobby. I asked if the kids could use this little baby golf set (they we had to buy for Ray) in an area away from all the men (cuz kids are annoying) and the staff let the kids play in this private Ping area! They had a blast!!!!! I love days spent playing sports!!!!

Sunday was Jack's first day in the nursery! Also, Tanner has been doing a great job keeping Rayleigh quiet and still in the chapel. Progress!!!! I stayed in the hall during the 2nd hour to keep an ear out for Rayleigh and Jack in the nursery but they both did great and were so happy! Success!!!! I was able to attend Relief Society and enjoy a nice lesson. I went to all 3 hours of church! woo hoo!!!! After church we all worked together to bake a homemade apple pie! It was so fun and seriously so delicious!!!!

Ray wanted to "help" so I kept handing her old food and she made "soup". We called it a witch's brew. It was disgusting but she had fun and it kept her occupied for at least an hour.

It was nice having a quiet Sunday at home. No responsibilities, no cleaning, just having fun together as a family. That night we played games with Parker and went to bed satisfied and happy. I love my family!