Afternoons of Birthday Parties and Bowling

We had quite a busy weekend with two birthday parties and a bowling social event with Bill's unit. Drew was unbelievably excited about all of these activities. How much more fun can you pack into two days? Oh why not dinner out at My Big Fat Greek Restaurant too?

The fun began with Drew's friend Lincoln's birthday Saturday afternoon. It was a dragon themed party complete with a dragon jumping inflatable, which Drew had no interest in whatsoever. He was very content to just play on the playground equipment. After our pizza lunch Lincoln's daddy treated the kids to a treasure hunt. Here's Drew and the rest of the kids following Mr. Derek on their search for buried treasure.



Drew running back to the site of the treasure chest's discovery.



Drew with his share of the "treasure"


Bill retrieving Drew from the playground to come see Lincoln blow out his candles


Drew with a bird's eye view of Lincoln and his cool dragon cake

After a quick stop at home then we headed out to the bowling alley for our FRG social event with Bill's company. Poor Drew...Mommy and Daddy really don't make time for bowling as often as we should. He couldn't wait to get to the bowling alley. Here he is sitting...yes sitting...to bowl a frame. He was NOT interested in any help on his form or technique from Mommy or Daddy. Given the fact that I was beaten by a 9 year old, he was probably right to refuse my help.

In between their turns the kids found other ways to entertain themselves including jumping off these stairs.

Drew was very attached to his ball and made sure he always had a close eye (if not a hand) on his ball.

Drew celebrating before the ball even reached the pins

Drew and his beloved bowling ball

From bowling we headed to the new My Big Fat Greek restaurant in town. Despite it being a chain, and the chain restaurants in town usually not being the best options for dinners out, the rave reviews we had heard were not wrong. Our meal was so good we were even reminded of our favorite Greek restaurant in Schweinfurt (The Delphi).

Sunday morning brought another birthday party at Drew's friend Emily's house. Here's Drew and his buddy Danny taking a spin around the backyard in Emily's princess SUV.

Emily's daddy had hooked up a trailer with some hay bales to his golf cart and took the kids and a few lucky parents (including Bill) on a short "hay ride" down and back the dirt road to their house (out in the middle of nowhere).

Later Drew and Mommy worked on some foam sticker Christmas ornaments.

Drew can't wait to put up his little Christmas tree and hang his new creations.

It was a great weekend full of fun, cake, and friends and we are looking forward to another busy weekend coming up as we celebrate Thanksgiving with a group of our friends, get all of our Christmas decorations out and up, and attend yet another birthday party. Fortunately we are nearly done our Christmas shopping so braving the Black Friday crowds is not on our weekend to-do list.

Drew tries his hand at bowling

Last week we had a social event for Bill's company at the bowling alley. We had a great turnout and everyone had a good time, but Drew was especially thrilled. When I informed him I'd be picking him up early from school so we could go bowling with Daddy and his soldiers, he asked "Just like on the TV?" He was, of course, referring to the Nintendo Wii bowling, which he is actually fairly good at...considering he's 3 and all. I explained that the real thing would be a little different but that he would still be trying to knock down the pins but we would be using an actual bowling ball.

The whole experience was exciting for Drew, even getting the "funny shoes" on. He tried out a couple different balls, jumped up and down when the pins fell, and said "Oh wow" when someone would get a strike. None of the pictures really turned out that great. It seemed like every time he did something adorable I was talking to one of the other spouses and when I tried to get pictures he was not interested in cooperating. Such is life with a stubborn 3 year old.

Although he is pictured using the ramp exclusively, he did throw (yes, literally throw) the ball down the lane a few times without it. We had the bumpers of course. But every now and then someone on the lane next to the kids' lane wouldn't be there for their turn so the soldiers let the kids take turns bowling for their buddies that weren't there. Needless to say, without the bumpers, their scores reflected the kids' turns.


So many balls...so little time.

Mom, stop taking pictures and get over here and help me!

Drew was funny about using the ramp. Sometimes he'd walk right up there and roll the ball down all by himself. Other times he'd cry for someone to help him and then when I or one of the soldiers or spouses tried to help him, he'd suddenly become reluctant and his turn seemed to take 5 years!

At the end of the afternoon though, Drew declared himself a big fan of bowling. "Mommy, thank you for taking me bowling. Bowling is my favorite." This is his latest line for everything, clothes, activities, food, etc.:

"Mommy (or Daddy) thank you for making dinner. Chicken is my favorite (or peas or rice or pierogies or whatever else happens to be on his plate that night)."

"Mommy, thank you for getting my sweatshirt (or my pajamas or my toothbrush). The green sweatshirt is my favorite."

It's really quite cute.