Anyone got a spare?

Hit up kids summer bowling for free.  After having such great success with the free skating we thought why not add bowling to the mix.  I got us registered and all set to bowl.  We of course set out as soon as I got it all put together.

We had a few choices of bowling alley's to choose from and decided to stay with what was local.  Once we found the place we quickly got the kids in their shoes and the balls picked out to start their first of two free games.

They did play with bumpers on and Meg started out trying to be good and bowl like an adult.  Andrew saw a ramp and decided that the balls were just too heavy and the ramp was the way to go.  He quickly began racking up the spares using the ramp technique.  This got Megan's competitive juices flowing.  She was not using any help and even with bumpers found herself with a few gutter balls.

After Meg lost the first game to Andrew she decided maybe the ramp was the way to go.  I had both kids now using the toddler ramp to play.  Good thing these games were free.  Andrew still ended up winning the second game and the mood was not good.  It was time to call it a day with bowling.  We have yet to go back as I'm not sure with just the 2 of them it's a good idea.  We need to find more kids to play a good game with and then maybe it will be more fun.  We'll have to see if we make it back out.

Fore!!

Jeff took the kids out for a little driving range fun.  He wanted to brush up on his golfing and felt like the kids might like getting to tag along.  So after work he packed up the kiddos and headed out. 

He said the kids weren't too bad but probably each needed their own bucket of balls.  Some would trickle off the tee and some not bad shots.  They enjoyed getting to go out and spend some one on one time with their Dad. 

It was nice to have them go out and do something fun without me.  I usually coordinate our events so getting to stay behind while they went out was great.  Jeff even planned it so it was smooth relaxing for me.  I hope for more of this during the last part of our summer.  We've got about 4 more weeks to go and we are totally ready with all the back to school shopping complete.  Can't wait to squeeze in the last bit of fun before we set in with our school routines.

It's a bird, It's a plane....

This Saturday Jeff had plans to golf with Ken for a chunk of the afternoon. This left the kids and I wondering what we would do to fill out day. It so happens that I came across the JBLM Air Expo that we hit up a few years ago. I wasn't sure if I wanted to brave this event on my own.

After some thinking I decided I was going to be going. It worked out perfect that Grandma had an open schedule and she could come as well. This was nice for me to have a little help and another adult to enjoy the show with.

We had a rough start with trying to figure out how to get to the show. When we went a few years ago we drove and the traffic was so horrible that we thought the shuttles would be our best bet. There were about 5 locations to choose from and there was 1 right here in Puyallup. We thought that this one would be the best location as it wouldn't be so crowded. We arrived and waited about 15 minutes with a crowd of about 30 or so people. There was no sign of a shuttle and soon one of the crowd looked up on his phone that they had cancelled our location and no shuttle would be coming. This was a bit frustrating and we thought maybe our hopes of going were dashed. It was getting later and more crowded.

We quickly got in our car and rerouted to another shuttle location. On the way we started to see the traffic really backing up. We thought we'd check out this second location and see how crowded it was before we made a decision on what we were going to do for the day. When we arrived there were plenty of parks and a shuttle had just left. We were about 10th in line for the next shuttle. A bus came within 5 minutes and we were headed for the show. We were so amazed at our luck.

The line to get in was super long. I had forgotten that part. You've got to get through several security check points before you can enter and it takes a bit for each person to go through. We finally made it in and were all smiles. It was great fun to see all the planes and people.

We tried to watch some of the air show in the beginning but the kids got bored very quickly. So we started out looking at booths. The kids quickly each got some free loot bags and we started to fill them up with giveaways. There was a ton of stuff and we all had a bag full by the end of our day.

We had some super overpriced lunch and settled in for some of the airshow. We saw some cool air displays and decided to call it a day. We headed for the shuttle home. It was just as crazy trying to leaving as getting there. There seemed to be a communication problem with the army base and the shuttle people. There was talk about shutting down all transportation for 2 hours. We were not happy at this idea. As it turns out we ended up getting on a shuttle within 15 minutes to leave. The poor lady wasn't familiar with our location and took us the long way around. It took a lot longer to get back and that was no so nice. It wasn't too bad though and soon we were headed to Grandma's house to swim. We had a great time and I'm glad we went. I did miss having Jeff with us and we may try to hit it up next year. We'll have to see how we feel about braving the crowds.

Our First Summer Hike

We got invited to hit up a summer hike which occurs weekly. I've been trying to get my act together so that we could go. Each time it rolls around there was something preventing us from getting to go. This Wednesday however I made it happen.

This hike was at the Tacoma Nature Center. We've never been out there and weren't really sure what to expect. Megan was less than thrilled to be going hiking. She seems to get "tired" of walking pretty much anywhere we go. I told her to put on her happy face because we were going and it was going to be fun. We've been in the house for two solid days while I've had to work and we had to get out.

I really don't know why kids doubt their Mothers. Of course once we pulled up and saw other kids and Moms, Meg was all smiles. She enjoyed every minutes of our time. Andrew was in heaven with other boys and was definitely working on getting his wiggles out.

The trail was beautiful. It was so nice for me to actually have other Mom's to talk to while we did our hike. I think the kids also liked having others to play with as we explored. It was nice for us to be social. It's usually just the three of us on our outings so this was a very nice change up and might I add much needed.

After the hike we explored the Discovery Pond area. This was probably Andrew's favorite part. I don't think he stood still the whole time we were out. It was fun to see him so alive and active. Megan was a bit more conservative with her play but still enjoyed herself. These two just couldn't be more opposite from each other. I find it so interesting.

I enjoyed being outside and just listening to the giggles and joy from all the kids. There is something about Mom's and kids getting together that just works.

They even had a nature center which we got to check out. Andrew was really reluctant to leave the play area and after some chasing we finally got to go inside. It was a cute little play area with interactive stuff to do. They also had some turtles on display which were neat to see.

We had a great time. So thankful for Sarah Jaggi and all her efforts to coordinate the summer hikes. I hope we'll get to hit up a few more. I'm gonna have to figure out how to make my schedule work so we can go again.

Park Exploration

So considering it's Friday the 13th and my morning did not go well I decided we had to get out of the house. I found this new park in Auburn for us to explore. It was a bit of a drive but we are in need of new territory to discover.

This park has a whole dry section and a sprinkler wet section. The kids were so excited to be in a new place and didn't know what they wanted to do first. As usual I had Andrew wanting to do dry while Megan wanted to start wet. Those two are never on the same page.

I made the decision to start dry as I figured once they got wet we'd spend the rest of our time in the water area. The kids hopped from one item to the next, they wanted to try it all out. They couldn't decide what they liked and just wandered around.

They made quick work of the dry and were ready for the wet. They got right in and decided the water was a bit cold. This sprinkler park was a bit smaller then we are used to and there wasn't much there but it was different. The kids were all smiles and having fun. It took about 20 minutes before Andrew slipped and fell. He was so sad and got a nice red scratch on his elbow. He didn't want anything to do with the water section after this.

This was fine with Megan as she was ready to go back to the dry to explore some more. They played in the sand and got nice and dirty. I figure we were there to play so why not make a mess right? It's more fun when you dig in and make a good mess.

Andrew arm was burning a bit from the fall and he just lost his desire to play. He came and sat with me for a bit and Megan wanted to go back to the wet. We were on a roller coaster of sections let me tell ya. Nothing really captured their full attention for too long.

It wasn't long before I decided to call it done. It was a cute park but there are some closer to home that the kids love. We explored and had fun but probably won't be going back any time soon. It had new equipment that we've never played on before but really not worth the drive. The kids just didn't care to stay that long.

We ended our exploration with hitting up $1 cones from Burger King on the way home. The kids were super happy and I was glad we got to go out even on this weird day.

This Is How We Roll

One of my favorite memories as a kid was when my family would go out skating/biking after dinner. My Mom and I would skate while my Dad and brother rode bikes. We'd go out at least once a week and it was a ton of fun. I loved roller skating and could do many tricks. It saddens me that I have never taken my kids out skating. Don't really know why it's never been something to come up till now.

Came across a kids skate free during the summer and I immediately signed them up. This Wednesday at the last minute we were actually able to go out for the first time. I thought this would be simple. I got the kids their skates and all set. I thought I could sit on the sidelines like all the other Moms and watch them skate away. It quickly became obvious to me that I was going to have to rent skates and get out there.

After the kids only went a few feet and ended up on the floor more then they were standing I decided to get skates on. Once I was ready I got out on the floor and it all came back to me quickly. It was kind of exciting to still have it and do a few laps without any issues. After getting my footing I went over and took turns helping each child.

Poor Andrew was so scared he wouldn't listen to any instructions and just wanted to hold on to me while he rolled along next to me. Megan on the other hand listen to what I was telling her and before she knew it she was out there on her own doing a good job. She was slow and still had some falls but kept at it. She had a great time and didn't want to leave till the time was over.

There was a Grandma there and she offered us her rented stand to see if it would help Andrew. He felt more comfortable using it but still wasn't enjoying himself. He didn't like not being able to get his balance and he hated falling. He spend most of the time sitting on the sides and would go out with me on occasion. He turned in his skates early and was ready to go.

All in all I think we had a good time. I know Meg and I did but Andrew doesn't care to go back. I'm hoping that we can continue to practice and maybe they'll start to get the hang of it. I know Jeff is already talking about going out with us one day, which would be fun. It wasn't bad for a first time and I'm glad we went. We'll have to see what happens next time.