Tee Time

We have this miniature golf course that you can see from the freeway on the outskirts of town. We probably pass it around once a week and we've always said someday we are going to try that place out. Well we had a sunny weekend and time on our hands and as we passed by we decided that it was time to try it out.

This place has four different 18 hole courses to choose from in a pretty small space. I was really surprised when the lady said we had our choice of the four. Our deciding factor was which course had the least amount of people on it. That way we could take our time and have fun. This place was not exactly the best of set ups. In comparison to the other course in town this one was not very well done. All the holes were pretty much the same. They were very short and crammed into a small space. We had to go hunting for a ball or two as the fence wasn't so good either with huge gaps at the bottom just perfect for the ball to sneak through.

Andrew really enjoys playing. He listens to Jeff's advice and tries the practice shots but would rather just hit it and redo the shot if needed. He is a fan of the scoop shot where he scoots the ball along not actually hitting it. It was fun trying to tell him to hit the ball. He also is our switch hitter, he couldn't decide if he was going right handed or left. I think he started right and after a few holes switched to left. He could make a hole last forever if we let him. Never once did he complain and he had a great time.

Megan on the other hand is so competitive that if she isn't winning or doing as good as her Dad then she isn't having fun. It's one of those slow type of meltdowns where she gets quiet at first, then you start getting the stink eye from her, then if you try and say anything you get your head bitten off. I think this is our second mini golf outing as a family and her second meltdown. This is not her sport. She gets so into it that she feels if she muscles the ball it will do what she wants but of course it only makes it worse. It was a great time for one child but not so fun for the other. I don't think we'll be going on this type of outing again anytime soon. Some things just need some time and this is one of them for us. Since Jeff loves to golf I hope that we can go again in the future.

Street Fair

Last year I heard about this special event that happens in Kent each year. It is called the cornucopia days with a whole variety of stuff to do. I was very intrigued so I've been on the lookout to find when it was coming around again. I of course found it and we hit it up the street fair portion.

We got geared up and headed out. The kids had a great time and hit up every booth giving away free stuff. They each had a sack in my backpack that we added to frequently. They loved the booths that had the spin the wheel to win a prize. I think we made sure we went to all of those.

It was a great way to spend an afternoon. We didn't see anything that really caught our eye to buy and later had a few regrets for not getting this cool little cup that turns any liquid into a slushy in seconds. We totally forgot about it till we were half way home and then remembered we wanted to go back to that if we hadn't spent our money. Oh well....

It was fun and something different for this crew to do. I'm glad we went, we had a great time.

How low is your tide?

So I found this low tide exploring thing in the area and didn't want to pass it up. I don't think my family was really thrilled with the idea but went along anyway. I sometimes find some weird things to do and some are great hits while others are for sure misses.

I am please to say that this was a big hit. The kids absolutely loved exploring the tide pools on the beach. They had some touch tanks to look at and guide charts to help us figure out what we found.

We started our adventure with the touch tanks. The kids got to get up close and see the critters. There was an expert there explaining to the kid what they were seeing and proper handling of the marine animals. They were glued to the lady and loved to see what she had but really wanted to get to the exploring.

After listening to the rules we quickly headed out to the beach. It was a huge low tide and I think it was said to be the lowest tide of the year. The kids started to get dirty right off the bat and didn't like walking in the sludge but loved what they found.

We found a jelly fish, different star fishes, seaweed, and a bunch of crabs. They loved turning over rocks to see if they could find something new. We explored all the different tide pools we could find and got nice and dirty.

It was the perfect day to be out having fun in the sun. It was nice to be all together as a family. Summer has been a bit slow for us in getting ourselves out to do different things. We have mainly been hitting up the library for the summer reading program so getting outside was huge for us.

I didn't hear any complaining except the dirt. It was something new that we haven't ever done before and they were really into it. It is super nice to plan something and have such great success.

We loved our day out and hope to have many more outings to fill up our summer. It is such nice weather it's tough to stay indoors.

Boom Pow Bang

We had the most excellent 4th of July weekend this year. We hit up a few movies as usual and then we started with a little at home family fireworks with just the 4 of us. We missed this last year with just bad planning so the kids were excited to get back to the hands on.

My original plan was just a few at home fireworks with the basic sparklers and fountains. Jeff had a similar view with a twist. Since he was in charge I let him get what he thought was best and went with it. For some reason I was on edge about lighting our own fireworks this year. Not sure really where it came from but it was there and bugging me.

The kids had a blast. The sparklers were a huge hit as always. They loved being able to hold them and felt very involved. We went though half the pack right in the beginning and the kids didn't want to stop. Next came the show part that Jeff had envisioned. He tried to buy all fountain type stuff that made little noise but as we found out sometimes the labels can be a bit misleading. We had a few that made a ton of noise and some wild shooters.

Andrew love the jack in the box that was a fountain and it shot out different little color orbs. He talked about that one to almost everyone that he saw. It made a big impression obviously. Megan loved it all. We did just enough to get them satisfied even though they would have loved to do more.

Next up came a surprise visit from my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Ed. They were here in WA about an hour away and decided to swing by. We had a great visit and I loved getting to see them. Wish it could have been longer but I'll take what I can get. They kids equally enjoyed their visit and have talked about them for the last few days. Thinking we may need to figure out how to get a Calif trip in soon.

Last but not least we hit up the grand finale --the fireworks show. There are a few options to choose from around here and this year we had a bit of a debate. We were going to try something new but decided against it. There is a local church group that uses the fair ground here to put on a concert and fireworks show. We hit it up last year and had a great time so thought we should go with it for convenience.

We arrived really early, almost too early for fear of getting a good seat. We had nothing to worry about on that front so we had some time to kill. The kids went on a few bounce houses and there was a few food vendors open before we took our seats. The family passed around the ipods and we played some games while we waited. Soon the concert started on the stage and we rocked out. In truth last year the show was a lot better. It seemed to have gone a bit down hill this year but still entertaining.

We got to honor the service men & women which is always a plus. I think it was the pastor of the church group gave a little history lesson that ended up being a bit more church driven then in the past. After waiting several hours the 20 minute show finally started. Everyone was glued to the sky and it was all very beautiful. It was a great reminder of our freedoms and we all enjoyed ourselves.