Weekending

Its hard to believe another fall weekend has come and gone. Friday as I mentioned earlier the kids spent the night with my parents. It was nice to have some quiet but also weird too without them here. We actually like having our kids home! I know some friends/family who don't mind shipping their kids off every weekend to family or friends but I really love our traditions. They of course love time with the grandparents though so it was nice they got to do that. It also helped Austin and I catch up on some much needed rest. 
I slept until 8 Saturday morning! That felt amazing! I got up and caught up on a few chores and talked to a friend on the phone. Once I was dressed and ready I headed out to go pick them up. We had plans of going to City Park. We hadn't been out there in awhile and the weather was just so gorgeous I wanted to do something fun with them outside. We invited our friends Nijel and Mia to meet us. It was definitely more fun with friends! The kids had a blast and I enjoyed another mom to chat with. We first took the kids into the Botanical Gardens. This was the first time we had done that in awhile. We brought both kids I think when Colby was 4 and Lindsay was a baby then I think we brought just Lindsay once when Colby was in school. Its such a beautiful and peaceful place. They also had a "scarecrow trail". They had different organizations decorate themed scarecrows and had them placed all around the gardens! It was so fun looking at the different ones. We also enjoyed seeing the plants and sculptures. The boys were less into it. They mostly just wanted to run around and play. I think the girls could have hung longer with the moms. We spent about an hour in there though which I thought was good considering...
We finally went over to Storyland which is really where they wanted to go. They had a blast and we were able to just sit and visit while they played. It was nice visiting with Melody while the kids played. I enjoyed watching them! They are so big now! We hung out in there about an hour until lunch time approached. Once we left it took the kids and I an hour to get back home! We stopped to pick up lunch then got home! I think we were all ready. I just enjoy my slow Saturday afternoons. Austin was in Hattiesburg so I like to try and make those times fun when its just the kids and I. Its been hard on them this fall with him being away so much. We spent a lot of time outside and I let them watch Lilo and Stitch while I cooked and cleaned up dinner. After dinner we took a walk...again tried to keep things as fun and normal as possible. They went to bed early and I found myself bored without Austin here. 
Sunday it was nice to wake up to a new day! I looked forward to Austin getting back into town. We got to Aurora about 9:20. The kids were able to see their prey 4 teacher and even help her get some things in her classroom. After that we met up with Melissa and the preschool families that were arriving. We gathered the kids up in a room and waited on time for church to start. My kids got to see old teachers and friends! They were super shy at first though. I was glad when Austin arrived before we had to go on stage. I wanted them to be able to sit with him while my kids sang. The kids did an awesome job! We had 13 out of 20 show up so that was really super! They were adorable! After they sang we took them back to Children's Church. Shelley did the story with all the kids then they split up according to age. Shelly took the big kids and Melissa and I took the littles. We made a little craft with them. I really enjoyed my Sunday there. I love our church and I love what I do there. I missed the people and my little preschoolers but I have to say it was refreshing to be somewhere else for a week and gain a different perspective. After church the 4 of us ran some errands and went to lunch. It was so nice to have Austin back home. We worked on the kids pumpkins for their contest at school. We spent a lot of the afternoon outside which was nice. As always the weekend was great and it was nice to get that refreshment before beginning a new week!