Weekend Recap...

Saturday was "Worldwide Day of Play" (according to Nickelodeon at least) so my girlfriend, Eileen, and I took the little boys to Marbles Children's Museum in Raleigh.  The boys and I have been a few times and it never disappoints.  We arrived at 11:00am and left at 3:00pm but we easily could have stayed another hour or two...

Pete, me, Eileen, Finley & Max
(Henry was still playing!)

Here Pete is in front of one of my favorite quotes...

 … and here he is from our trip last year at the same time.

The boys enjoyed playing with the new farm exhibit...

 The "Physical Fitness" room is always a huge hit!

There is a pretend weight area, a 5-tiered basketball area with baskets at varying heights, gymnastic rings, trampolines, and an entire hockey rink just to name a few exhibits in this room...

 There was also a new all-about-electricity area called Kid Grid.  Each new room became their "favorite" as we walked around.

 See those lights on the floor?  The children could control those by different buttons throughout.

 We had a great day playing together!

While we were in Raleigh, James and Chris were in Wake Forest watching the Army/ Wake Forest football game...

Army lost in the end but was up throughout most of it.   It was a beautiful day to be outside.  The big boys had a great time and even ran into a few West Point buddies!

On Sunday we took the boys to Smith Lake to see a Renaissance Festival...

Here the boys are watching a lesson on jousting.  One of the horses
fell ill so it was more of a tutorial than a battle.
Naturally the boys were very disappointed.

After only 30 minutes in line, the
boys got to go up and down this bouncy dragon.

Really cool but the long lines made
it impossible to go again really.

There were lots of homemade
items to purchase, like these wooden chairs.

Here the boys are checking out a couple's Coat of Arms.

The festival pretty much left us (all) scratching our heads.  What possesses someone to dress up and joust in their free time?!  To purchase, show off, and wear period clothing?!  To walk around uttering phrases like "me Lords… and me Ladies"?!  I mean really, who… and why?!  But…. it was fun for the boys to see something different and it was nice being together as a family outside.

Busy week ahead… I hope I'm not the only one looking forward to the weekend already!