Grandma & Andrew Cut a Rug!

We had a great Labor Day weekend with Grandma! Today, the boys, Grandma and I watched some 'So You Think You Can Dance' episodes. As you will see, Grandma and her favorite dance partner, Andrew, definitely think they can dance...

Take care,

Mouka and Murray

For the past week, we have been dog sitting our dog sitter's dog...huh? Mouka is an older mixed-breed dog, and he got along great with our Boxer, Murray, and the boys. Most of the time he would sleep in my chair or bark at people through the window. Every once in a while, Mouka and Murray would mix it up. This was Mouka's last day with us, and I took some video of the two dogs having some fun!

Nap Time Howling

Right before nap time, the boys decided to cling to the sides of their cribs. They would throw their heads back, and were either howling or mooing. They sure are funny little creatures!

Wes' Backflipping Fun!

We really need to find a gym that can take three fun loving boys into a class. The boys love to climb, jump, roll and as you will see in this video... flip. Here is Wes having some fun before bed tonight. He started flipping off the couch. Then, he saw some video of his flip on the camera. He immediately ran over to the loveseat to improve his technique. After each flip, he would run to the camera to watch his performance. Then, he would go do it again and again and again. As Daddy said, life as the Director and the Star of the movie is exhausting!

Ollie Wallie's Fun Center

Last week we learned about a new place that opened up very close to our house. Ollie Wallie's Fun Center is a place for children that is full of inflatable areas for the children to jump and bounce! We heard about it on Thursday and we decided to load up the boys and experience Ollie Wallie's on Saturday. We all had a blast! The boys were adventurous, fearless and thrilled to jump and jump and jump! When I say boys, I mean all four boys... Daddy included.

Here are some pictures from our morning...

When we arrived, we took the boys into the 'toddler' area that had a huge Dora and Diego bounce area. The toddler area was a fenced in area that has the Dora and Diego bounce area and other toys. The boys knew exactly what to do, we are highly skilled jumpers. Wes was jumping even before entering the bounce area...
Going in...

In the bouncy area, there was an inflatable car, boat, slides and just a large area to jump. The boys all enjoyed the slide which ended up being a 'warm-up' slide for the big one we would concur later...

Jared LOVED sliding! I am not sure I can express how much he enjoyed it. It was hard to get him to move on from this area because he kept wanting to slide. Little did he know what was in store...

Wes - chillin' in the boat...

Jared jumping...

Daddy joined the boys in the bounce area and had just as much fun as the little guys. Here is Daddy jumping with Andrew...

Daddy even took on the tiny slide in the toddler area...

Jared even enjoyed sliding Daddy-style...

Andrew enjoyed jumping in the bounce area and enjoyed jumping out of the entry way....

Ready, set, go.....

He sticks the landing...

As I mentioned previously, the toddler area had other toys to play with. Wes enjoyed playing with the riding ponies. He did not quite understand how to ride the pony but we used them like swords to battle... en guard...

Andrew spent some time showing off his mastery of the baby toys...

We had a lot of fun in the toddler area but decided to venture out to explore some of the bigger bounce areas...

Again, ALL the Darnell boys were enjoying themselves...

The next activity was an inflatable maze. The boys climbed into the maze and started off like champs.... At first, we thought they were going to make their way through on their own....

However, the boys got to the end of the first row and turned around to come back to the entrance...

So, Daddy joined them in the maze. Yes, I had to twist his arm to get him into the maze. I was standing outside of the maze and got excited to see Andrew emerge at the top of the first slide...

After Andrew, I saw Jared emerge...

Then, I see Daddy....

Where is Wessie??? That is the exact thought that I had. Then, I heard him! I turned to my left to see Wesley walking towards me and he was upset. Apparently, he did not need any assistance to get through the maze. He made it all the way to the exit and then when we got out, he did not see anyone he knew so we was a bit spooked. Poor Wesley!! Andrew, Jared and Daddy had fun in the maze and emerged with big smiles. Wes and I were there to great them at the exit...

There was a large slide at the end of the maze (bigger than what is pictured above). Since the boys did well with this slide, we did not stop them as they ran for the BIG SLIDE!!! I was a little nervous but up the boys went. They were slow going as they moved up the ladder. This was the part that made me the most nervous because as they were climbing, the older kids in the traffic jam were jumping and even started pushing past the boys to climb ahead of them....

However, slow and steady worked for our guys because they made it all the way to the top...

Without any hesitation, the boys pushed off the top of the slide to take the big plunge...

They were giggling the entire way and even thought they would take flight near the end of the fall, they LOVED this slide...

Jared could not be stopped! Immediately after climbing down from the slide, he said "again" and headed right back to the entrance. Up he goes...

Wesley went down the slide once and that was enough for him. Andrew did not immediately slide again but eventually would take a few more rides down the slide. Here are the boys watching Jared slide...

Weeeeee.......

Since Jared was the only one enjoying the big slide, we moved onto a smaller bounce house that had a smaller slide. Jared takes a ride on the smaller slide...

Andrew sliding...

Andrew, so proud...

The next bounce area was designed for battles. The outside showed two figures boxing on the platform and battling with sticks. Maybe when the boys are older, we have them settle arguments here...

We tried to divert their attention but apparently, the big slide was calling their name. Andrew and Jared both headed back for a few more rides...

Jared...

Andrew...

The boys absolutely loved sliding down this slide, especially Jared. Here is a little video. In the video, Andrew is first and then Jared. You can hear Jared giggling during his slide... even the part when he is flying through the air. Grandma and Nana, please sit down before watching and know that no grandchildren were harmed in the making of this video....

All the boys decided to take on the maze one more time. Wes decided he preferred to hang out with Mommy during this trip through the maze. Jared emerged safely...

Then Andrew...

And last but not least, their fearless leader...

Ollie Wallie's also has arcade games. The joy of toddlers is that they are able to enjoy these games without having to put in any tokens. They loved the blinking lights!

More fun "playing" the games...

In addition to the bounce areas, slides, toys and arcade games, they also have a coloring center. We decided to make a stop in the coloring center before ending our morning...

The boys make their mark on the chalkboard wall...

Daddy uses the elecritcal outlets as inspration for his artwork...

We did not want to leave the instructions to "Put fingers here" so Daddy decided to provide commentary about the genious of the design that would have an outlet in the middle of the wall...

Team Darnell definately left their mark...

After Ollie Wallie's we stopped at Beef O' Bradys for lunch...

Another great family outing! We will probably spend a lot of time at Ollie Wallie's! Daddy did not take on the BIG SLIDE so he is already planning his next trip with the intent of riding the BIG SLIDE!

Take care,