Memorial Day Weekend

This was the first weekend in a while there was no girl scouts, no soccer….nothing, just had to live life.  The weekend started with me taking Addy to a water park for a birthday party.  Tip for anyone going to an indoor water park…its humid!  I shouldn’t have worn jeans.  It was steamy.  Addy had a good time though.  I sat by the pool, at the bar with a couple $6 drinks.  It was a good night.  Saturday the old kids and I hit the zoo while the little one was out cold for her AM nap.  After lunch Bray took a nap and so did Ry in the afternoon.  Then did some grilling of supper and some laundry. Also had Hayden get her first summer time cut.  No more clumps of hair all around. 

Sunday was also really fricken HOT.  So the morning was just hanging out at home.   Watched a little bit of the Indy 500 pre race stuff, then after lunch figured the old kids needed to get out so too them to the Science Center.  Last time there with them we did the Egypt exhibit, this time they were getting ready for the Mars exhibit, opens in about a week so we’ll have to get back there for that.  We just hit the animals, too many snakes there, the discovery zone and the kids played a lot.  Addy and I got the little water power generator going pretty good.  Bray got to run around and explore too.  We watched a little film in the planetarium about the moon landings.  Then hit the play area.  Addy found a friend she knew there and played a bit with her there.

I love that we have this option in Iowa and have a the science center, but I think they need to build on and be bigger, add more stuff.  If you can get through in about an hour and the exhibits change but nothing else does, add on.  It will become stale.  It should be something that takes 2-3 hours or more.  That being said I’m excited to go back for the Mars exhibit.  (I’ll rant on the zoo..again later)

After the science center the kids wanted a snack and asked them what they wanted, they both responded “HIGH LIFE” (I love my kids!)  So we went to the High Life Lounge and had some tots and some drinks, grainbelt for me and shirley temples for the kids.  They had a blast, just sitting at the bar eating and then playing with the buck hunter game.  We went home and had some supper and Bray and I watched the 600…Addy did girl stuff with her mom.

Monday it was just me and 3 kids pretty much and it, and it was a pretty good day.  We hit the zoo early in the am and were there for about an hour and a half (please Zoo add on and get bigger – good job adding a Rhino in 2013 but build on and compete with Omaha, and get more monkeys!), the kids had fun again and usually do all the time there.  Saw the Tiger and Snow leopard up close.  The lions also a bit too; one was laying on a rock close to the fence and they are awesome creatures up close.  We left the zoo at the right time, there was a LOOOONG line forming as we left.  We then headed downtown and hit the Sculpture Park and I let Ryleigh go out and run.  She loved it, she ran after her older siblings.  I got a great shot of her and Addy walking up to the letter sculpture. 

After about 30 mins or so there we went east to the Capital to check out the cannons and memorials.  The kids asked a lot of questions about the memorials which is good, Addy especially was starting to realize the meaning of Memorial Day.  There are a bunch of memorials up by the capital and cannons and cool statues around the capital that everyone should see.  And you get a great view looking downtown Des Moines and to the ball park on the river.  Des Moines isn’t really that bad of a place.

We then headed home for mac & cheese with hotdogs for lunch and Ryleigh went down.  When Ry woke up all 3 kids were then out on the deck playing and it was perfect.  It was great weather, I brought out Bray’s cube and had the ipod playing some good ole country music, and some nice cold beverages too.  We grilled burgers, brats and dogs and the kids wanted to eat outside so I complied.  It was awesome, perfect.  A trip to DQ and then shower time and it was bed time just in time for the Hatfield’s & McCoy’s on History Channel. 

Overall Monday topped the weekend of GREAT!  Hoping not to insult others BUT my kids are the best 3 kids in the world!

Best and Worst of the Weekend – 120 Minutes of Monster Trucks

The weekend was pretty good, and some ups and downs, more ups though than anything else, which is always a plus.

Friday I got off of work and had a tasty beverage and some buckhunter and picture find before heading home and getting the Brayden to go out for Boys Night out.  After getting him in a cleaned up and ready to go, we headed out to go for supper.  He wanted to go where I went and got Tator Tots New Years Eve.  The Highlife!  I obliged.  On the way there Grandpa called and talked to Bray about where he was going and Bray asked if he was going and was going to watch on TV.  When I parked at the Highlife and got him out, I locked the door, I looked over and he was already at the door.  He got to the bar and helped him up, the bartender came over and Brayden without waiting a second told him, “Can I have a cheeseburger and a sprite?”  The kid at the whole burger, and I told him if he ate his whole burger he could play a video game.  He chose Silver Strike, only bowled a 32 but then it was on to MONSTER TRUCKS!

Last year at Monster Jam there were only 5 trucks and 2 at Free Style blew engines.  This year they had 8 and one was Sun-ava Digger.  A little grave digger off shoot, there was also El Toro Loco, a truck with horns and a brand new Hot Wheels truck.  These things were a lot louder than I remember last year.  Brayden had his ear phones so he was ok; I covered my ears a few times.  But we had a blast.  The best was sitting there with him during the races and we’d each pick who we thought would win, and then El Toro Loco in free style got a little crazy and wiped out and broke a horn.  At one point Bray looked at me and said “Dad – THIS IS AWESOME!”  It was all worth it then.  Saturday Grandpa called too and asked Brayden how it was and they talked about it a bit.

We also had an embarrassing moment in the bathroom but that’s that…can’t go any further.

Saturday not much went on till the afternoon.  The oldest kids and I went to Jordan Creek Mall to play.  Well Brayden played more than Addy.  She wanted to play Angry Birds.  We were there about 30-40 minutes and I guess a fellow tweep was there 5 people down.  After that time the kids did the “I’m hungry dad…I’m Thristy dad” so we walked around a bit and got a snack and walked a bit some more till Lil Miss Social (Addyson) saw a friend from class in a store and HAD to go say hi.  Went in and I saw another tweep there but I didn’t say hi, because Brayden was pulling off all bracelets and ear rings from the racks.  Also on the way Addy was stopped in her tracks window shopping.  She wants a new dress and she stopped dead in her tracks and just looked at the dress.  I’m screwed when she’s a teenager. 

On the way home we stopped and got pizza and a couple movies for Sat night, and then Brayden drilled his head walking into 2 doors too.  Kids wanted to see “How to train a Dragon” and I got “500 Days of Summer” after being told from tweeps it’s was worth seeing.  Both movies cost me $0.47.  Nice deal there at Family Video.  I thought 500 Days was pretty good.  It’s a different flick which I think makes it better than what mostly Hollywood is putting out.  And the New Girl chick is easy on the eyes too.  Minka Kelly at the end is nice too! 

Saturday Night the worst of the weekend came.  Brayden got sick.  There’s nothing like cleaning up puke in the middle of the night.  Changing sheets, doing laundry, cleaning the kid up.  After about an hour I laid with him and a puke bucket the rest of the night, until….Ryleigh woke up and wouldn’t go back to sleep.  So I left Bray and his bucket and went to the hit the recliner with Ryleigh for the next 3-4 hours.  Let me tell you my back felt GREAT Sunday morning. 

Sunday was a lazy day with Bray recovering.  Bray spent most the day in his room playing and napping.  Ryleigh the same way, napping, eating and playing (kids have it easy!).  Addy and I went out in the afternoon for a walk down by Sec Taylor and the river about near dusk.  She took her scooter and I walked by her and we went about 1.5 miles.  We talked about the river and the bridges and the moon and the geese by the river.  It was a fun little time with her.  We stopped by Mullets for a drink afterwards too.  She had a Shirley temple and I a GrainBelt.  Ended the weekend with a little Xbox and a new iphone game, thanks Jen, addicted now.

Over all it was a really pretty good weekend, a dad weekend mostly.