Weekend of Surprises

This past weekend was a 4 day weekend for Nick, so we decided to take advantage and do some extra special stuff with the boys. We simply told the boys there would be a "surprise" (or two!) that day and watched their faces light up in anticipation.

Saturday night was the first surprise. After church let out we dashed to a part of town we don't often visit and found there were thousands of others heading the same direction. After making the bold decision to follow some cars that seemed to be taking a short cut (which they were), we ended up at the park just in time. In time for what, you ask? To see a bunch of hot air balloons lift off!

Chase

 Jackson

 Tyler

 Nick and Jackson (a new favorite picture for sure!)

The boys were in awe of the balloons. We were so close (as you can tell in a couple of those pictures), and they loved cheering as each balloon lifted off and waving to the lucky people riding in the basket! They're still talking about the big balloons 3 days later. 

After the balloons we went to surprise #2; ice cream at Chick Fil A! By the time we got to Chick Fil A we were already an hour past bed time and it was beginning to get dark so the boys knew this was extra special. They made huge messes with their cones (which is why there are no pictures), but they loved it. It should be noted that when Chase and Tyler walked out of Chick Fil A with Nick they remarked that it must be early in the morning because it was getting dark. That tells you how early they've been waking up lately! Ha!

Surprise #3 of the weekend came Sunday afternoon when we took the boys to a nearby sprayground (a playground that sprays water everywhere for my family bumpkins in Maine that don't have such things). They hadn't been to a sprayground before and were a little unsure. Well, to be fair, really only Tyler and Jackson were unsure for a while. Chase jumped right in and started having fun!

Surprise #4 was yesterday morning when we packed up and headed to Aunt Laura's to take advantage of the pools in her apartment complex. They had a ball (of course) and were super excited to see Aunt Laura's cat, Marbles. I don't think Marbles felt the same way towards the boys though, because she took off to hide under Laura's bed as soon as the boys ran into the apartment. 

All in all? A super fun weekend that the boys won't forget for a long time!

Exhausting A Cat

When the boys woke up from their nap on Sunday afternoon I decided to load them up and head to their Aunt Laura's apartment. They've never been over there before and she has a cat, so I knew the trip would be a hit. I pumped them up the whole drive over. By the time we got there, they were pretty excited to see Aunt Laura and her cat Marbles (by the way, that name was chosen by Nick when "Marbles" was just a stray kitten hanging out around our house).

When the boys first entered her apartment they weren't quite sure what to make of the cat. This wasn't the first time they've seen a kitty up close, but to be fair it has been almost a year since they saw one, so I guess to a 2 year old this could be their "first time". It was cracking Laura and me up how the boys were seemingly trying to avoid Marbles and yet Marbles was following the boys.

That didn't last long though. Before long poor Marbles couldn't catch a break!

 

 

 

 

 

Chase wouldn't even let Marbles hide under the table.

 

 

 

 

 

"Where'd the kitty go?"

 

Marbles eluding Chase

There were a few times Marbles got a little break from being chased down... For the 20 minutes or so I had Laura stick the cat in her bedroom to give my allergies a little rest, and...

Whenever she found a hiding spot...

When Laura brought out the singing Piglet she got when she was a kid

When the movie Elf got turned on (but even that only distracted them for a few minutes)

And when Tyler decided it was time to destroy her living room by throwing all the couch cushions on the floor. (Notice Jackson laying on the little table as well.)

A good time was had by all and Laura says Marbles spent the whole rest of the night curled up asleep. Guess we wore the kitty out. When we left the boys said they wanted to sleep there (and Jackson went a step further to say he wanted to sleep next to the kitty). Now to set up a sleep over so Nick and I can have our first night alone since before the boys came home from the hospital!

Watch tomorrow for an exciting announcement! Well, it's exciting to me at least and that's all that counts seeing as it's my blog.