The Flick Four

Whadda Weekend!

Wow! Im in Monday Recovery Mode, after a wild and crazy weekend family adventure :) And it was worth every minute!

The original plan was to head to Fresno, about 2 1/2 hours from us, for a 3rd birthday party on Sunday. Of course, if we are going to make the drive- we might as well add in some more "stuff" along the way!

Saturday morning was closing ceremonies for the big kid's T-Ball league. So we got a trophy, had a delicious tri-tip sammy for lunch, then hit the road!

On our way to the central valley- we stopped at the Ravine Water Park in Paso Robles for an afternoon of fun in the sun. We hadnt ever been there before, but we will be going back! It was pointed out to us that it isnt as good as the water parks that are in Fresno (which was our original plan, but this worked out better). But we went late enough in the day that we got a discount on admission, and since our kids are only 3 and 5- it was plenty of excitement for them. (not my picture! I borrowed it from the website)
 There is a large "tadpool" with slides and water depth that are perfect for the littler guys. There is a water play structure in the same big pool with stuff to climb on too. And the best part- TONS of friendly life guards making sure the big kids arent where they shouldnt be and that no one is being overly obnoxious and ruining someone elses fun. Like I said- totally worth the drive for us- and we will make sure to go back at least once this summer!

The birthday party on Sunday was at a fairly new park that has an AWESOME water play area! Where we live its not really hot for long enough to be worth having a water play area at the park, but in Fresno its more than worth it! This park had lots of geysers that shot up, buckets that dumped, and pipes that sprayed. The kids, once again, had a TON of fun! There was even a standard type play structure that was TOTALLY SHADED so it the slides didnt burn their legs :)

Post birthday party we hit up the air conditioned movie theater for Kung-Fu Panda 2 (in 3D, of course). Just as good as the first one- maybe even better! Worth seeing in the theater for sure!
We met some other friends for dinner after the movie, so we could eat before heading back home. They picked a place called John's Incredible Pizza. Have you been there? I just looked it up online (to borrow pictures from) and its a California chain of restaurants. It has all-you-can-east pizza, that is actually pretty tasty! I was surprised. There are some great out of the norm. flavors too, like garlic pesto, buffalo chicken, and nacho. Then there are some flat out WEIRD flavors like macaroni and cheese and peanut butter. (seriously? peanut butter pizza?) They also have a salad bar, baked potatoes, pastas, and a dessert bar included in the dinner price.

After dinner came the fun part! THE GAMES! they have a few rides- bumper cars, and a spinny thing- kinda like at the fair- and some others. They had a TON of games to win tickets from. Of course its the usual junky you trade the tickets in for- but I just like winning them ;) Too much fun, for 2 little boys!
After pizza and running amok in the game area for an hour, we hopped in the car and headed back home. Im certainly glad to be back, but the wallet draining weekend was worth every minute! We havent had some good family fun like that in a long time. The boys were SO well behaved. Despite the wacked out schedule we kept, the little-to-no naps that they got, and the over stimulation of EVERY. PLACE. WE. WENT, they were amazing. There were no major melt downs, or minor ones even. There was no crying, no tantrums, and they were pretty well behaved. It was fabulous.

And the best part? I didnt take my camera. Sure, there are pictures I am kicking myself for missing. But I was happy to be in the midst of it all, taking it all in, and being present, right there with the boys and my hubby, while the fun was being had. :)

Now back to the real world! Hope you are having a great Monday!