WORE 'EM OUT
I think the boys and I wore out my parents today. And we seem to have worn out the boys, too.
After a fun stop at DI (a favorite thrift store they don't have in Missouri) where we found some awesome deals, we stopped at Taco Bell on the way to the Green Belt. We started at "Beaver Bridge" (where we saw our beaver friends twice), walked to the "orange bridge" and down the other side of the river. We stopped at the outdoor part of the Nature Center there to see the fish.
Zach fell asleep as we were approaching the Jeep, and of course woke up when I put him in. I thought he'd sleep all the way home, but NOPE! So he got about 5 minutes of nap today.
Then I drove my parents up Harrison Boulevard to show them all the cool houses, then on up Bogus Basin Road to the Simplot mansion (and our old church building, which is across the street). We tried to find where you go to get to the mansion, and couldn't. But we caught a view of it. It looks like the driveway is 1/2 a mile long, and is along the narrow crest of the hill. Scary! And really cool.
Tired and a little cranky, we finally made it back home, where the boys immediately picked fights until they were both in tears. We decided to go out to dinner.
WOW was that so fun for the boys! We went to Golden Corral, and Jared was starry-eyed at the idea that he could choose whatever he wanted. He had two adult-sized servings of mashed potatoes with gravy. Zach inhaled his first plate before I even sat down with my own food. Jared was a pretty close second. After a few more plates of food it was dessert time.
Babu took Jared to make his own ice cream. He put crushed Oreos, chocolate chips, and M&M's in it, then swirled it all together. Later he told Ryan that the Oreos had "dyed" the ice cream and made it colorful. He gushed over it, saying, "This is the best ice cream I have ever had in my whole entire LIFE!" Zach had a healthy helping of his choice, chocolate/vanilla swirl with chocolate sauce and M&M's. When he finished, he yelled very loudly to the rhythm he created by banging his bowl repeatedly, "Mommy, I need more ice cream!" I couldn't believe how much he put away. And they naively let him eat free!
To finish off the perfect day, our waitress gave the boys balloons!
When we rolled ourselves home, I had the boys try on their Halloween costumes to show Nana & Babu before they leave in the morning. They are in love with their new looks. I bet you can't wait to see them on Halloween!
And now, it's time to hit the hay. Phew, I'm tired!
Click on the top photo to see more from our day.