Where We've Been: Part III

Once the weekend arrived, we only had two more days in Fort Wayne before it was time to head home. We started off the weekend with Paul's hamburgers, lovingly made with his own two hands. Then we popped some popcorn and enjoyed watching the Disney classic That Darn Cat! together. The little kids were laughing so much during certain parts - it was really cute!

The hypersensitive children couldn't handle the noise of the popcorn popper. Paul included.

Amy can't take a normal picture. She is always making this face.

Since the siblings were around for the whole day on Saturday, we tried to plan some fun activities that most of the family could do together. One of my favorite spots to play when I was younger is a park out in rural Indiana that we deemed "castle park." I still do not know the actual name of the park - but it has a huge play structure that looks like a couple interconnecting castles complete with slides of all shapes and sizes, rope bridges, monkey bars, balance beams, tire swings, and a special miniature play area for toddlers.

Everyone was so excited when I suggested the outing. Once we got out of the car, Emma spotted the play structure and started pointing and squealing (while kicking her legs and flailing her arms) in excitement. She loves going to the park. I can't wait until she is walking so her knees and hands do not get so darn dirty from crawling all over everything. She certainly does not let her physical limitations prevent her from experiencing all the joyful fun a park has to offer.

Luckily, I had many helping hands to assist Emma through the play structure. She was very appreciative. I don't think anyone was more happy to be out in the sunshine than Emma!

Mark kept getting harassed for no reason whatsoever by a precocious 5-year-old girl. She would walk by him and kick him as she passed. Then she started pelting him with mulch. Of course, being 17-years-old, he was unable to defend himself really in any way so he sent 6-year-old Bruce to get her off his back.

This plan backfired when Bruce began getting beat up by the lovely young lass. And by beat up, I mean the girl kept throwing him to the ground and body slamming him. Her parents must watch a lot of WWE.

I was about to go break everything up even though Bruce was being a good sport about being harassed but before I could say anything, Matthew came buzzing into the picture. He was pretending to be Spider-Man and announced himself to the girl: "I'm Spider-Man here to save the day!" She gave him a look that clearly read "you're weird, kid" and kept beating on Bruce. That's when Matthew charged her. He tackled her, knocked her down, and then kept on going, pretending to shoot webs as he ran to the other side of the park. She looked a bit stunned but soon picked herself up and left the boys alone!

When we asked Bruce later about how Matthew had to rescue him from the wild woman, Bruce replied: "No he didn't! I just wanted her to beat me up."

A fine attempt to preserve your dignity, Bruce, but you were certainly getting creamed.

Saturday evening, we took the younger set and headed over to Shannon and James' house for dinner and games. They live on several acres of beautiful land with all the amenities a child could want - a trampoline, a tractor with a flatbed attached for "hayrides", bikes, tricycles, and a sandbox! The kids especially loved James giving them all a hayride around the property. We enjoyed a dinner of pulled pork, macaroni salad, a green salad (with lettuce and herbs from their garden!), chips, and banana cream pie. I was relieved that the kids cleaned their plates without complaint before rushing back outside to play some more! It was so nice because the kids really entertained themselves while the adults could spend more time catching up and visiting. By the time we were ready to leave, they were filthy! The bathwater that night was pretty dark.

Stay tuned for Part IV. It includes a yummy, indulgent recipe that I made with my sister Amy who is turning into quite the little chef.

In case you missed it, click to read Part I and Part II.