The kids and I have spent the weekend at my sister's house. Her hubs was out of town, so we thought it would be fun to have a weekend slumber party. Saturday, her neighborhood hosted a day full of fun activities at their clubhouse - face painting, jumping castle, balloons, cotton candy, crawfish, hot dogs, etc. When walked up with our six kids and saw that the pool was open, we turned around, headed home, and suited up the kids. These children love nothing more than swimming! (Dad, I'm glad that I listened to you and grabbed the swimsuits!)
Miss Allibelle!
Colin, our fearless water boy:
Jacker Jacks:
Colin and Jackson were having a blast pushing each other into the water.
Ever since Jackson took swimming lessons, he refuses to jump in the water. I thought he might follow Colin's lead, but he didn't. He can swim without floaties too, but he refuses to do it right now. If I hadn't had to watch Allison, I would have spent some time with him in the water (not that he would have preferred that over playing with his cousins). I guess I'll save swim practice for this week at my parents' house.
Look at that hunk of skin Jackson's got. He was grabbing on for dear life!
Pure bliss!
Allison enjoyed herself too. The water was very cold at first. She walked in a little further each time. Eventually, she walked all around and climbed up and over a big whale that was in the kiddie pool. She fell a few times too, putting her face under water, but she didn't get upset about it.
Landon spent most of his time in the kiddie pool too. He wasn't a fan of all of Colin and Jackson's pushing so he made his own fun.
We barely saw Dawson. Once he found his friends, he was gone!
After an hour or two of swimming, we headed over to the jumping castle. I was a little worried about Allison being in there with the boys, but Little Miss Determination doesn't let anything stop her fun.
I love Landon's face!
You can totally tell that Allison has an older brother. She's tough stuff!
Since the cotton candy wasn't running anymore, we got ring pops for everyone. They were so grateful!
We headed home with ring pops in hand. It was a great time, but the fun wasn't over. Jackson has been waiting since our last trip to try riding Dawson's "super-powered scooter." He is a very cautious boy and wasn't sure that he could do it at first because the boost of acceleration made him nervous. He asked me, "Mommy? Will you ride it and see if you think I can do it?" I did and it was a blast. (I think I need one!) I definitely thought he could do it so I gave him a few pointers. He hopped on, was a little timid by the acceleration when he hit the throttle, but then took off like he'd been riding it forever. He was SO pleased with himself. He was going so fast. He would ride past me saying, "That was pretty fast, hugh?! Yeah! and Whoa baby!!" At one point, he said the sweetest thing, "Mommy, thanks for thinking I could do it!" It just melted my heart. He also told me that he wanted a super-powered scooter for his birthday. :-))
After riding on the street for a few runs, he gained confidence. He rode down their driveway, which has a significant decline, over bumps and up and down the sidewalks. He was having a blast.
While I was busy taking pictures and videoing, Allison made her way to their new 4-wheeler. I'm telling you, she thinks she's as big as they are!
Dawson, thank you for delighting my child with your scooter!
Our kids were so tired from the day's excitement that we put them to bed at 7:30. That is early for my kids! Then, Melissa and I enjoyed a late night full of conversation until we crashed in her bed. It was so fun! Interestingly, I thought I would sleep so well in her big bed sans kids, but I didn't. I kept waking up because I didn't feel my kids close to me!
Now for the destructive part of the weekend. Saturday, Allison broke my sister's glass blender jar when she tried to get it out of the cabinet. After church today, I found her in Kaiden's room with all of his diapers and wipes in a huge pile on the floor. Tonight, I left her with Melissa when I went to pick up Dawson from Awanas. She was happily playing in the playroom while the boys were outside. Melissa said that she felt like it was really quiet, so she went up to check on her. When she walked into the playroom, Allison was unclothed, wearing no diaper, and decorating the CARPET with her POOP!!! Oh my heavens! She has never done that. I felt TERRIBLE!!! Melissa thought it was funny and no big deal. I guess that's what four boys does to you. Poor Jonathan had just gotten home from his camping trip and he cleaned the carpet while Melissa bathed Alli. I owe them, big time!
