Fun Bouncing

We had a stint last fall where we went to the bouncey place A LOT........here are a few more pics from one of our trips.

During this trip we ran into some friends :-)

Slides are always fun!

The kids love this wind tunnel.

It's hard to see, but Sidney's laying on all the stretchy straps........she was taking a break, she was having a hard time climbing to the top this day.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

Last fall we took the kids to a hot air balloon festival in Scottsdale. It was the first time we had been to one and they had SO many balloons there, and bounce houses for the kids. It was really cool........there was a TON of people there. We had to drag the kids away (which isn't unusual for our kids........they never want the fun to end!)

It was around dusk when we arrived and for an additional fee you could get a tethered ride in one of the balloons. We see hot air balloons all the time in the winter here and Sidney wants to go on one SO bad. Maybe someday :-)

 I absolutely LOVED this one!

 At first I didn't even realize that there were all these other balloons on the other side of the park. We made our way over there and they were handing out Halloween candy. The kids were kind of hesitant though, it seemed each time we got right up next to one of the balloons they would pull the cord for the flame to help inflate the balloon and the it would really scare the kids.

They were really having a hard time with this neat clown balloon, but we were fascinated watching them try over and over to get it to completely inflate.

Update

I know it's been a LONG time since I've done a post. We've been busy, to say the least. Roman was working out of state for 13 months and only home every 3rd weekend, my Mom was diagnosed with lung cancer in November of last year and successfully completed treatment (after 5 hospitalizations for pneumonia), but is still having residual side effects, especially with nausea, and he has lost a considerable amount of weight, the kids and I spent our annual summer break in WA, my sister and her family moved out of state and all three kids are in school this year! Whew.......you would think that would leave me extra time to try and catch up, but now Roman is working out of state again, and with three kids in school, it's three times the paperwork, homework takes 3 times as long and the mounds of dishes and laundry aren't going anywhere!
I think I was having problems the last time I attempted a post, so I gave up, and again I was having problems with it not letting me upload any photos. I'll try to look at it again soon. I have let go of trying to catch up, but I will try to cover the last year briefly with my favorites.

Day of Play

They had another Day of Play for kids really close to us......it was still quite hot, but we ran into some friends, so the kids were content to stay. I wanted to walk around and see everything, but they just wanted to hang out with their friends.....so we went along with them.

Sidney had hurt her stomach/stretched too far I think on the ramp where you run and catch the ball, so she was trying throwing the ball here.

The kids would get a running start, go up a little ramp and jump onto this very spongy pad....while in the air a guy would throw the football to them to see if they could catch it.


They kept doing it over and over and over again!

They were having SO much fun!!

They let me go down to the other end to get the better shots :-)

The boys had fun on this ship slide.....if the line had been shorter they would have done it even more.

Since they were doing it at the same time & I was in line with Sidney right next to them it made it difficult to get them both coming down the slide. You climb up the middle, then go down either side. This is Cameron.

Of course if the opportunity is there Sidney MUST get her face painted :-)

The first friends we ran into had to go, but then we ran into another friend too at the end of the event.

They had so many booths at this one that I wanted to check out, but the boys had a t-ball game that morning, so we just had time to hit the fun activities :-)

Kid Fest

They had a festival for kids up in Scottsdale this fall......I took the kids there on Sunday, after we had dropped Daddy off at the airport for a distraction.........it was a neat idea, but it was HOT out and the lines were long and kids were short on patience.....but we went for a little while.

Sidney loves the big slides!

The boys got to "race" these horses, this is Cameron.

Carter waited patiently for his turn also.

I was really hoping that they would like it more, but they just can't stand being out in the heat, so we headed home relatively quickly.

Cooling Off with Friends

Since it stays warm well into November here, even the zoo has splash pads to cool off in. I took the kids back in October with some friends.

I think the kids spent a good majority of the time here, at the stingray bay.

This splash pad area is really neat.....they have a cave and a couple little slides.......the kids just kept going around and around.

The boys liked this little stream that went around the outside.


There were 3 peacocks just roaming around.....I don't recall them being out, so close to people before.....the kids were fascinated by them.

We had to really watch them so that they didn't put the water in their mouths.......EEEEEWWWWW!!!

Of course Sidney, my tomboy-princess, found the mud at the back of the splash pad & just had to get it all over :-)

Then we were off to see the squirrel monkeys. We saw SO many of them up close!

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The kids always love seeing the elephants, they are a must see every time we go.

It was fun to go with just a small group & not have to get anywhere in particular......we actually didn't see too many animals this trip......it was more about the kids playing.

Off On An Adventure!

Awhile ago we went with some friends on a Steamboat Tour up at Canyon Lake. Since it was so hard for the kids to come back to AZ and leave Daddy still in WA I needed some activities to keep them occupied, so we had purchased a few great deals through several of the coupon sites.

The kids were all like "Let's go already!!"

I did have a couple of drinks & snacks for the kids & we got some popcorn for them all to share.

It was quite peaceful there.....not much activity on the water & the boat had some music playing & narration telling about the lake.

Can't forget the sunscreen for the kiddos. :-)

The kids couldn't get close enough to the water.


They had set up this table for us since we were a larger group & there weren't any other tables, as most of them had only two people at them. We were trying to stay out of the sun too much, as it was still quite hot out.

We did manage to get them all together for at least a moment.

It was so nice & relaxing......when we weren't worried about the kids that is.



It's propelled by this giant wheel, the kids were fascinated by it.

Afterwards we stopped for lunch at this little restaurant.......I don't think they were supposed to, but we let the kids sit at the bar for a few minutes on the saddle stools.

Of course, the boys had to get their turn in too.

Another Trip to the Bouncy Place

I don't think I've posted these.......we've gone to this bouncy place a few times this past fall. They had a great deal for passes running quite a bit.

The kids love this slide & frequently want me to go with them up it. It's actually good exercise climbing up there & bouncing around :-)

The kids LOVE this wind tunnel........one time a couple of other kids that we didn't know joined them in there also. We actually did run into some friends on one of our trips there.

Sidney gets SO frustrated with this tunnel of straps to climb......

.....but keeps at it until she can get to the top!

The boys were running up these slides and throwing themselves at them.....it was pretty darn cute. (As long as no one else was coming down the slides.)

The boys like these little cars too......they were crashing into each other in them as they were kicking us out :-)

We were already about half an hour past our time, but they still didn't want to leave (which is SO my kids!)