The Weekend

I guess the Monday blues always come on harder when you've made the most out of your weekend. If we sat around doing nothing, then the work week wouldn't seem like such a bad thing to be back to. This weekend, we made sure to fill it, so going back to the grind was particularly hard. Friday morning, Tyler headed in to work for a few hours while the kids and I assembled our new stroller (a joovy caboose that will hold an infant carseat and still have space for Max, which will hopefully make my life a lot easier). We had spent Monday evening shopping around toys r us and the like trying to find what was best for us. It came together with little complications, we packed up snacks and a quick lunch and then we were on our way into the city for a trip to the zoo. It's been a number of months since we've visited our favorite place as the weather has been to cold, or life has just been too busy. We picked up dad from work and spent the afternoon visiting our favorite animals (for me, that's the tigers. Tyler likes the Snow Leopards, Lucy likes the hippos and Max likes the giraffes). We were pleased that the park was so quiet, and the weather was calm enough to be able to enjoy being outside, but also made us grateful for the indoor enclosures. The kids even took a few minutes to play at the park, which we don't usually do, because it's too busy. We were also happy to see the new baby giraffe. While we sat visiting the gorillas, we were trying to decide what to do with the rest of our evening (whether to just go home, or cram more into our family friday). (check out these cute bowling feet)
We called Sarah and found out they (her and Tyson) were planning on going bowling, so we hitched onto that idea and met them at Mountainview Bowling. We played a quick game and realized that we obviously don't play often enough as Lucy and Max's scores were depressingly too close to the adults playing. I like to claim I have an excuse as the belly throws off my balance (which it really does), but it only made a marginal difference I'm sad to say. 10 frames is difficult for the kids, but they lasted. 8 frames would have definitely been ideal. After showing off our skills, we headed over to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant which was only a few blocks away. Then it was home and off to bed. We decided to not let our Friday be the only shining star in this pleasant weekend, so Saturday morning came (with a little sleep-in by everyone) and then a visit up to Grandma and Papa's house. I had a rehearsal at the Stake Center at 2 along with Janie, Sarah and Ali and it was determined that while we practiced, the boys should do a Costco run...with all the kids. They seemed to manage pretty well, although Tyler would claim that he handled the 3 kids and shopping much better than his dad and Jason did. We met up with them and those that were tired or cranky headed back to Cochrane (mainly the kids and Papa) and the rest of us headed to a fabric store to pick our fabric for Janeen's grad dress. We ended the night with pizza at Jason and Ali's and then off to bed to prepare for Ward Conference Sunday.
Sunday was pretty awesome too. Ward Conference - which is spiritually uplifting, but draining on a parent trying to entertain children through a two hour meeting, rather than the typical 70 minutes. We only had one time out and a few outbursts...not bad. The ward had a potluck lunch afterwards which was much enjoyed by everyone, and then we headed into Calgary to visit with my family for the afternoon. We were surprised by a visit from my Aunts and Uncles (Graham, Leah, Larry and Christine) and the roast beast that mom cooked was delicious. Then the ladies headed to a RS fireside presentation of "Women at the Well". I was playing piano for one of the numbers and enjoyed hearing the musical performances of some of my favorite girls.
It was a lot to pack into a weekend, but it was fun. Today it was back to vacuuming, laundry, groceries, recycling, washing vehicles, meal planning, etc...but I can still feel the faint memories of a weekend well spent. I hope it lasts at least part way through the week, until the pull of the next weekend can catch me through the rest.