When Dads Away

This weekend was the official start of Spring for the Woodbury Family- or at least for Taylor's dad because it was the official start to the Golfing season. Taylor, his brother Mack, his dad and 8 or so other friends of theirs jetted off to sunny Palm Springs to play golf, eat good food, do go-cart racing, and generally hang out and have a good time together. Always a fun "boys" weekend that Ethan can't wait to be old enough to join.
So it was just me and the little boys at home. So that I wouldn't go crazy with them trashing the house and being bored, we had lots of activities. Friday night we had yummy pizza and hung out with Taylor's cousin Heather and her kids (her husband was also on the golf trip). 7 boys, lots of pizza, tons of toys, and great mommy talking time= a great Friday night.
L to R: Jake, Owen, Same, Miles, Ethan, Isaac, and Cole. Sam and Jake are older than Ethan but they played so well together. Isaac is just 8 months younger than Cole and Miles and Owen are just 3 months apart. Yeah! Cousins- even if they're really second cousins- who cares! We love having them so close.
Saturday was such a beautiful day that Ethan and Isaac spent most of the morning out in the backyard annoying bugs, kicking soccer balls, and getting very dirty. Then that afternoon we headed down to Alpine for Henry Derr's birthday party. Alpine is beautiful and the setting couldn't have been better for a little kid birthday party. Horses to ride (although my kids were too afraid to even go near one), a trampoline to jump on, sand box to dig in, and lots of room to run and lots of kids to play with.
Ethan even tried out this zip line they had at the top of the tree house. It freaked me out the first time, but he actually held on really tight and had no problem jumping off at the end. He loved it so much that's all he did once he discovered it. And lots of tears when we had to leave. I think next time the Derr's have a party there they'll put the food table somewhere else because several people got beaned by kids on the zip line. Ethan beaned a few himself- woops!
The kids made cute hats and I'll definitely be stealing this idea for a future party. So cute, and an easy, cheap activity.
Isaac spent a lot of time playing with a tether ball. So much so that we may need to invest in one for our house. He was hilarious to watch chasing after the ball and running in circles.
Isaac's other favorite was this horse swing. He figured out how to climb up on his own and then ride/swing back and forth. This is what caused his tears when it was time to leave.
The kids were so exhausted from all their playing that there was snoring coming from their room just 3 minutes after I put them to bed. And I even put them down a half hour early!