Staycation Week In Review

I mentioned in my last post that we had decided not to take a vacation away from home this year for a variety of reasons. So instead, my hubby took the week off, and we decided to do some fun, local things.

You may remember that on Monday we went to a local splash park. 

Tuesday, we let each of our older 3 kids invite a friend to the pool. I brought a bunch of snacks, and they swam for hours. The kids had a blast! Here is the boy with one of his besties. How cute are they?!

After the pool, we came home and roasted hot dogs and 'smores in the firepit Jeff built in our backyard last fall. He's totally talented.

It rained on Wednesday, so we decided this was a good opportunity to go see a movie. We saw Smurfs 2. It wasn't quite as good as the first one (are sequels EVER as good as the first?!), but it was very cute.

The bag I am carrying in the picture was my diaper bag when the kids were babies. It makes a great movie-snack-smuggling bag today. There is a part of me that feels bad about smuggling snacks into the movies. But the cheapskate frugal woman inside me usually tells that part to sit down and shut up.

Thursday we took the kids bowling. It was the first time the younger ones had ever bowled, and they LOVED it! We played 2 games. I was terribly out of practice, although I did get a couple of strikes.

Friday we went to a local miniature golf course. I thought this would be the highlight of the week, but it was hot, and the kids weren't very into it. After we golfed, we rode the bumper boats. It was a ton of fun, but we were drenched. I failed to get any photos of this part of our adventure.

We did follow up the golf course with pizza and Bruster's ice cream. Jeff and I both ate pizza, but we were well behaved and didn't eat any ice cream. 

Saturday, my parents hosted a back-to-school bash at their house. They rented an inflatable water slide and had all the kids and grandkids over. It was a ton of fun! Some of the adults even got in on the action. Can I just say that water slides seem WAY scarier as an adult than they did as a child?!? I screamed every time I went down.

I am so sad that the kids go back to school in a couple of days! I always miss them when summer is over. But I'm glad we could end the summer with this fun week together.

Question of the Day:

Do you bring your own snacks to movies?

Thankful

The past 24 hours have involved a lot of Clorox wipes and medications. I think I'm ready for spring now, please. Thankfully, things have stayed contained to one child so far.

Now that my blog is off and running, I need to thank a few of my peeps. Starting with my husband, who is and always has been my #1 fan. He believes in me even more than I believe in myself, and I like to think I have a pretty healthy self-esteem. :) Thanks, Jeff!!!

Try not to swoon, ladies! He's taken!!!

Seriously though, is there anything better than a man who loves his kids?!

I also want to thank Robin, who is an amazing writer and blogger. Some of you may have seen her blog, Pensieve. It you haven't yet, it's definitely worth taking a moment to check it out. Robin was kind enough to sit down with me and give me all the ins and outs of blogging before I got things started. That was greatly appreciated because I am far from technically savvy! 

Finally, I'd like to thank Audra from Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. She taught my oldest in school last year, and we've shared some of our common interests over the last few months. Second to Jeff, she has been my biggest blogging fan! She diligently attempted to post my blog's first comment multiple times when I was having technical difficulties. Once things were running smoothly, she came back again to recreate her comment. Talk about a dedicated blogger friend!

Then she went above and beyond and devoted a whole post on her blog to how much she enjoys reading my blog!!! I'm pretty sure we're BFFs now. That kind of stuff bonds you for life. She's also got 2 adorable kids and an inspiring fitness story that I love.

AND she likes making PB&Js on Sundays just like me. I'm thinking we were somehow separated at birth. I also want her to come be my stylist and decorator because she has amazing taste. Thank you, Audra!!!

To all those that have taken the time to leave comments, message me, or stop me in person and tell me how much you like the blog - THANK YOU!!! Your comments mean the world to me, and I appreciate you taking the time to let me know that I'm not just writing to Jeff and my mom. :)

Do you have a blog I should be reading? Tell me in the comments below!