End of Summer Bash

I can't believe that my little man will be starting kindergarten in only one week! Where has the time gone? Expect to see a lot of posts on here for the next week because we have filled our schedule with a ton of fun things for the kids. I do realize that just because Alex is starting kindergarten, it doesn't mean that he will NEVER have another free day again, but I want to make sure he has lot of good memories of his last summer as a preschooler.

On Friday, I decided to be brave and take my kids and my niece and nephew out for a fun day on the town. We started the day at the zoo and had a great time looking at all the animals. It doesn't seem to matter how many times we go, my kids LOVE to look at all the animals. This time, we stopped at one of the education centers hands on exhibits, and the kids got to touch a rhino horn and elephant tusk. I was shocked to feel how heavy the rhino horn is, the boys loved getting to touch all of the different items, and Sydney was just thrilled that she got a giraffe stamp. I am pretty sure that the zoo uses some sort of super permanent ink, because after 3 days, 3 baths, and an evening in the swimming pool.....those stamps are still on their arms! I am not sure they will ever come off. All of the kids loved feeding the birds, and Sydney LOVED her penguins. I think she could stand and stare at that exhibit for hours, but we eventually got her to move on and finished up the zoo with the train ride. I was pleased that right as we walked up, the train arrived. Considering that both me and Daron have "bad line luck", this was a blessing on a very hot day.




After the zoo, we met Daron for lunch and let the kids eat in the underground tunnel that connects his work to the Subway across the street. As we were leaving lunch, it started to rain, so I took the kids out to Main Event for some bowling and game playing. I am not sure we have any pro bowlers in our family, but we had a good time regardless of our ability. After retrieving 2 balls from midway down the alley, I was glad the staff let us use a ramp for Sydney! I don't think her balls would have ever made it all the way to the end, and she was thrilled when she was able to knock down the pins with the help of the ramp. After bowling, I let the kids play some arcade games and then cash in their tickets for "prizes". I use that term loosely, because they always have a bunch of junk, so it amazes me that the kids always get so excited about picking out their new toys.

Oh, and Alex wanted me to take this picture to show everyone that he won.