So Friday night, after Walker's ball game, Chris and I started to brainstorm about all of the things we could do on our actual "weekend off". We purposely avoided any travel, which we thought would waste precious moments of this potentially relaxing weekend so we could just hang out with the kids.
Saturday was a great day to spend at the "Water Park" with the kids.
Sunday of course was Chris wrestling Ainsley in the halls of church while I wrestled with the challenges that come from serving in the primary on a 4 day weekend, aka hyper kids, absent teachers....and then came Monday.
Memorial day morning, we headed up with Chris to the Cabazon outlet stores because they have a huge sale on his 'work' clothes on this holiday and while he went shopping in his "big kids store", I took the kids to their stores which they loved. Aubrey is quite the shopper, a trait that apparently skips a generation as I can't stand it myself.
While Chris was enjoying his quiet, relaxing shopping experience, it was only a slightly torrential trip for me. When we finally caught back up with a relaxed and bag-toting Chris, these were the stories of the last hour that I summarized for him:
1.Maverick tore down the window banner in our Gymboree...literally tore it down, the salespeople were amazed and even laughing.
2.Ainsley ran underneath every clothes rack with squeals only a mother pig could love throughout the entire Carter's store, while of course, being chased by her siblings, those salespeople were not laughing. (Which tells me that they're in the wrong business.)
3.Maverick was dragged on the ground for a few feet by an over zealous Walker who was trying to cross using the crosswalk "quickly" in front of a truck whose passengers were laughing at the scene playing out in front of them.
4.And do you know that number that you wish you could count to as a kid that was as close to infinity that you could get? Yeah, that's how many tantrums Ainsley threw during the same hour. (The new stage she's going through.)
But, I have to say, it was still kind of a fun shopping trip. Just listening to the things the kids say, like Maverick in his squeaky 3 year old voice explaining "I have no clue" when asked where to go next. And then correcting himself by saying "No, I do have a clue." Or Ainsley experimenting with her "Ow" her shortened form of 'Ouch' when brushed by a passerby or low hanging shirt on display, which ranges from innocent to pathetic depending on how much attention she needs at the moment. Just for those funny memories and moments, I'd consider it an enjoyable trip.
And then we went down the road 3 miles to a Dinosaur museum, if that's what it's called. A hidden gem behind a gas station where we could climb atop the likes of a T-Rex and a Bronto. The locals tout this as the same location featured in the movie 'Pee Wee's Big Adventure' which adds very little street cred to this pseudo-museo location, but still we were tempted by its kitschy feel...
The kids loved it! There were robotic dinosaurs, some of which that actually worked. There was a place to pan for gold (because that's what you think of when you hear 'Dinosaur'?) And then a walking exhibit of dinosaurs, most of which were Stegosaurus' which led Chris and I to believe that whoever owned this place found a great deal on that specific model.
An educational experience it was not, but now the kids can brag that they've stood in the mouth of that giant T-Rex that stands behind that freeway gas station whenever we drive down that road.
Inside the Dinosaurs Mouth.....
We then went home, got the kids ready and took them to our local community pool for a swim. I'm not a big fan of the public pool scene but I felt much better when Aubrey's swim suit changed colors due to the enormous amount of chemicals and chlorine. Somehow I felt safer.?. We even bought Taco Bell for lunch, which my kids though was an enormous treat due to the fact that we try to avoid the 'fast food' scene.
Later that night we then headed over for a carne asada dinner (how patriotic for Memorial day) at the Mattsson's home which was a blast. We hung out with the Mattssons (cool family), the Brandon Terrys (another cool family), and the Deans (yep, you guessed it, another cool family.) Carne Asada, fresh guacamole, and homemade ice cream with homemade hot fudge. ( It tasted so good, I thought the menu deserved a line.)
The entire weekend was completely wonderful and despite our efforts to make it relaxed and unplanned it turned out to be extremely action-packed and memory filled. We loved it. When's the next 4 day weekend? Hopefully one will sneak up on us again some time soon.
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