Brown Family 'Stay'-cation: Day 2

Day 2 of the 'Stay'-cation was just as jam packed. We started off the day going to Settler's Park. Weston isn't quite old enough to enjoy the parks true awesomeness... maybe in another year or so. But he did enjoy the splash park.... except when the little kids splashed him in the face (it was the same in the kiddie pool the night before). But when he was left by himself with one of the little fountains he had a great time. Also, Settler's Park has swings... it amazes me how many parks no longer have swings - they are by far the greatest park toy ever! It's sad. Luckily Settler's has them and Weston LOVES to swing. I think he could sit in a swing all day long and be one very happy little boy.

After the park we went back to Grandma and Grandpa Brown's house for lunch and rest time. Well, rest time for the babies. The girls headed out to the mall for a "Girls Only" shopping trip and left the men home to watch the little ones (Weston slept the entire time we were gone... so Tyler didn't really have to do any babysitting - lucky duck!). I must say, the shopping trip to the mall was a success. I bought a pair of jeans - something I haven't done in well over a year, and let's just say I was pleasantly surprised to find that I have gone down a couple jean sizes since my last time jean shopping. It was great to have a chance to do some girl talk and not get any eye-rolls from the husbands. =D

When we arrived home Weston had just woken up and it seemed he had been the only one to take a nap, so while all the other babies slept Weston played. He loves the trains... mostly just destroying the tracks that we build...

We had planned on going black-light mini golfing, but since some of the little ones were in desperate need of naps, we decided to skip that so that everyone would be well rested before dinner. That night we headed into downtown Meridian to go to Flatbread. With a party as big as ours we naturally had to wait a little bit while a table cleared, but that was OK because the kids loved running around in the grassy plaza area right next to the restaurant.

Silly face

I love this picture... Weston is starting to pick up speed, almost like he's trying to run. Too cute!

Dimples!

Three generations.

Weston and daddy reading the signs. Weston was very anxious to get to go inside.

"Mom! I demand service!"

 "Yup... this is my table"

Near the end of dinner Weston was very sleepy... very, very sleepy (I mean, he goes to bed around 7pm AND takes two naps a day... and he had only had one nap and it was long past 7pm - we had it coming).  Look how sleepy:

After dinner we put Weston down for bed at Grandma and Grandpa's while all the adults headed down to the kitchen. Apparently there is a show on the Food Network called "Chopped". I hadn't ever watched the show and only vaguely recalled what it's about - each contestant is given three really random ingredients and they have to use all three of those ingredients in one dish. We split up into teams - each couple was a team - and we were to make a dessert using potatoes, jalapenos, and strawberries. WHAT?! Tyler and I literally stood there staring blankly at each other and the three ingredients for well over five minutes. We had no idea where to start. 1. I bake - I don't cook and 2. I follow recipes - strictly. I don't really like to venture off the beaten path... and I especially don't create from scratch. After several minutes of trying to look busy and look like we knew what we were doing we actually started to put things together. I'm sure it tasted terrible - and I still feel guilty that 1. I made a huge mess in my mother-in-laws kitchen 2. that we were being so wasteful using ingredients only to decide it wasn't going to work and making something else and 3. for the fact that Kevin and Julie were the judges and had to actually eat our food. YUCK! They must have much stronger stomachs than I do...

Look at the mess!

 I tried to remind Julie that when it came time to judge which one tasted the best to remember that Tyler and I made the least amount of mess and waste and we weren't the ones who used oil! =D

 Everyone with their "masterpieces" - ours are the middle ones... if it even matters.

After a thorough cleaning of the kitchen we headed home for bed. I think Tyler and I were asleep before our heads even hit the pillow! We were beat, but it really was a fun-filled day!