It already seems like a lot longer than just two weekends ago… but the weekend before last we did what we have done for the last 10 years… we celebrated our birthdays with one big shebang.

Pre-kids it was parties at our house and weekends spent at the beach. Now it is usually something family friendly but still fun. We have a lot to celebrate after all.

This year we went bowling with the kids, my parents and my sister. We took them to the bowling alley I grew up going to. One of my very best friend’s family owns this bowling alley, so naturally I spent a good chunk of my teenage years growing up there. The bowling alley has changed over the years, just like the people that walk through the doors. But it just felt right to introduce my kids to bowling for the very first time at these lanes and it could not have been more fun.

They were fans. Grace was easily distracted with the arcade. But Brooke LOVED it. She would stand there and watch her ball roll down the lane all while doing a little happy dance. My dad rocked it the first game, somehow. And I couldn’t even tell you who won the rest of the games. At one point my very pregnant self was even “bowling” (no leaning over or any effort whatsoever actually put into throwing the ball down the lane).

After a few mishaps including a face plant off of the dinosaur intended to roll a ball down, not a child to physically slide down… and a quickly devoured cookie we were getting close to wrapping it up when Brooke rolled a toy ball down the ramp onto the lane. My dad went to go get it… Brooke went after him. Brooke wiped out on the VERY slippery lane. Dad wipes out trying to get to Brooke. Dad crawls out on his hands and knees and the rest of us can barely contain our laughter. We were THOSE people. Luckily Dad didn’t do any major damage to himself and Brooke checked out okay as well.


We wrapped things up in the arcade with the photo booth and then loaded some very exhausted kids in the van to head on home.

It was a good way to welcome 28, as a family, together.


always,
amanda