Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Aquarium Field Trip and Best Buddies

Friday was quite a fun day for my little man! Colby had his first Field Trip of the year tot he Aquarium. I was excited to get to go hang out with him and his classmates. He went to the Aquarium I think his kindergarten or first grade year. Anyway this one was much different! We got there right at opening time. Actually I was there about 9:45. Once we got everyone lined up and counted all the chaperons and such we went on in. There were also 4 other school groups around that day. We went in and our little group I was assigned consisted of Colby, Noah, and Zachary. All 3 boys were great and I had no problems. For the first part of the day we stuck pretty close to Mrs. G's group. We had an hour to browse the first floor and part of the second floor. She had also given them clipboards with questions on it for them to answer. I liked the idea to keep them focused instead of just thinking they were there to run/play. At 11 we had to meet back outside and go to the IMAX theater. The kids were all excited to go to the Concession Stand. I was proud of Colby. I told him for this field trip he could bring his own money if he wanted to buy something. He stood in line and bought an Icee that with his own money. The IMAX movie was very good and it was enjoyable to just sit and enjoy. After that the kids got their lunches and we set off for the Food Court so that they could eat. I was worried when we got up there and there were no tables left b/c the other school groups were also eating as well. Well luckily after about 5 min some groups starting getting up and leaving so we were able to find some tables. Our little group had to be at separate tables but it was so noisy in there I just wanted to eat my lunch and move on. Once I felt like all the boys were finished we got up to go see the rest of the aquarium. One of the boys wanted to check out the gift shop upstairs so he went ahead and purchased a toy otter there. He was short about 90 cents so I gave him a dollar. I just have a soft spot I guess for 9 year old boys! We then finished up the rest of the exhibits upstairs. We went downstairs where the large viewing tank is and we stumbled upon a crowd and noticed that it was almost feeding time! I texted their teacher so she and her little group would also come down. It was a nice, informational time. I also enjoyed the time to just "sit". The boys did start getting restless though by the end. Once the presentation was over I let them go to the big gift shop downstairs. Well that took up the rest of the time. Colby ended up picking out an aquatic truck. We also chose a little purple penguin for Lindsay. Once everyone finished shopping I had them gather by the fountain. They all met up at 2 and we parted ways. I was so tired after the morning but also thankful for such a fun morning with my boy! Its not often he and I get to hang out like that so I really enjoyed it! He's so funny! I drove over to my parent's house to visit for about 30 min since I got across the bridge about 2:30. I wasn't going to sit in carpool and hour but I also didn't want to come home. Anyway I had a nice little visit with my parents. From there I picked up the kids. We came home and I think were all exhausted. But we had Colby's friend Nijel coming over! Luckily we had about 2 hours of quiet before he arrived. He and Austin got here around the same time. We had pizza then sent the kids outside to play. They had fun riding bikes and running around! i was happy to see them get their energy out! once they came in they got cleaned up and put on pjs. We started the movie. The boys wanted to watch a "Wimpy Kid" movie so that we did. I think everyone enjoyed that time. After the movie we had them brush teeth and go to bed. It was about 9 so we instructed the boys that they could stay up until 10 then they had to turn off the lights and try to sleep. Well by 10:30 they were still awake when we got ready for bed. I am not even sure what time they actually fell asleep but I'm pretty sure it was after 11. 
That morning they were all up bright and early! I rolled out of bed at 7 and it was full on busy! We cooked breakfast for them. Austin made pancakes and bacon. While we cooked we let them play on the iPad for a bit. Nijel had brought his tablet. I didn't mind them playing for an hour but I really didn't want that to consume them the entire time. So after breakfast we had them clean up the room and make their beds then they got dressed and went outside to play. Austin and I got everything cleaned up then we all got ready to go to my parent's house. I thought that taking them over their to swim would be good. I knew we really needed to get them out the house to expel some energy. Also I knew it might be our last time to swim this season. Well we got there and Colby pouted almost the entire time! I got so angry at him! I probably handled it all wrong b/c its obvious he was hurting but I was so frustrated b/c we did all this for him and it was only his friend and little sister playing and having fun. I had many stern talks with him and finally one clicked. I made him go apologize to everyone and shortly after that he was back playing with his friend. I think it was a combination of tiredness, hunger, and just missing Nijel. I used to do the same stuff as a kid...if something set me off and I started pouting well It was hard for me to get out of that funk. I really felt so bad for him. Recently during another lecture and talk with him I figured out that part of his bad attitude since that day is b/c he misses Nijel. I guess being around him compounded in his head the fact that they aren't at the same school anymore. Well the day ended up being salvaged. We had lunch with my parents then brought Nijel home. We spent that afternoon resting, cleaning, and watching some football. We all really enjoyed watching the MS State/LSU game that night! GO DAWGS! 
So Sunday Austin was off again. It was sure nice to have him with us the entire weekend. So we got up and ready for church. The service was good... Austin had to count though so we took separate cars and the kids and I came home after first service. Again we were anxious to watch the SAINTS game at noon. We had a relaxing afternoon. Football, outside time, naps, and getting ready for the week! It really was a great day and weekend. 

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