I stole the munchkins

It's been kind of a tradition the last few years to take Ada with us to the parades on May long weekend. I was feeling very sad that they wouldn't be here to go with us, so I messaged my brother and asked if his kids were old enough to come stay with us for the weekend. He said they weren't.

But then he said they could probably manage 36 hours. YAY!

So Alexis had already planned to come to the mainland this week. She came a day earlier, and we met at her church. Then, I stole the kids and headed to Rocky Point Park.

I made the mistake of asking Adelaide which shoes belonged to who and she tricked me. So I put the too big shoes on Ruben, and he tripped. More than once. Poor little bubba.

We'd brought our little tent for them to play in. I thought it might be a good idea to provide some shade. Though as it turned out, we got a great picnic table in the shade and didn't really need the tent.

But it was fun to play with.

We also brought the football again. That was a barrel of laughs.

And we brought the things for a picnic/bbq.

We're so going to have to do another trip to a waterpark this summer - when everyone has the right shoes and hats.

I think it might also be a good idea to do one that's fenced in so I don't keep losing children.

I DIDN'T ACTUALLY LOSE ANY CHILDREN. They're just really fast and disappear in and out of other children.

Julius and Michelle met us at the park for lunch and Julius brought us comic books. This is something he's been doing for years. And it goes over really well.

A huge group joined us (well, at the next table) and their children had bubbles. OH WHAT DELIGHT and hilarity that provided.

There was some Talking Tom.

And some wrestling.

And a picture of the twins.

Then it was time for ice cream.

Harrison Take Two

Well, after our abysmal attempt at a beach day on the Pro D day, I decided that I definitely needed a proper day at Harrison Lake. The May long weekend was forecast to be GORGEOUS and so for the first time in years we skipped the Cloverdale parade <gasp>  and headed to the beach instead.

I threw the usual beach toys into the car, but at the last minute I added a football and frisbee. I'm so glad I did.

Then Griff and Elisabeth decided to try their hand at fishing.

There were a lot of other shenanigans in between. Griffin decided to plunge into the lake for one (SO COLD).

Then, when I sensed the kids were getting bored, we headed to the hotsprings.

I need to find a picture of these four all together from the beginning to compare.

Liz went back to her ferry from last year. It wasn't the same without Haylea.

Still, they mostly had fun.

Then it was time for football in the water.

And bubbles.

In between there was a trip for ice cream. Now that our favorite ice cream shop is gone, I guess that's what we'll have to do. It was so convenient in the past to tell the kids it was time to go for ice cream. Now we have to make up another excuse.