MLK Weekend

Our four day weekend was a good balance of rest and play. Here are the highlights:

I spent most of Friday reading this adorably sweet young adult novel. It was a great pick as my first book of the year.

Saturday was a rare break in cold temperatures. We took advantage of the 50 degrees by playing outside for hours at one of our favorite parks.

Jesse was quite entertaining throughout his turn in the obstacle course!

Saturday evening we drove to Gastonia to celebrate my nephew's birthday. 

During the last few family gatherings, Amelia and Maddie have really started to play with their cousins. I kept finding them in random corners of the house playing together.

As I was cutting the cake, James stole the candles and started licking the icing. It looked like he was chewing gum so I stopped and tried to open his mouth. The boy is known for eating anything, now including candles. Oops!

Sunday morning I awoke to Jackson yelling, "Look outside!" There was a beautiful, though brief, snowfall. We hurriedly bundled up and ran outside to catch snowflakes on our tongues.

Unfortunately, this was the entire accumulation.

The rest of Sunday was busy with grocery shopping, church, and youth group. 

I had every intention of taking Jackson to the African American cultural center on Monday because they had free admission on MLK Day. I wanted to use the experience as an opportunity to expose Jackson to African American history, arts, and culture. I don't know when I actually planned on doing that because Monday's activities were nonstop.

Monday morning we received a spontaneous visit from out-of-town friends. I love that they always jump right in and play with the kids.

The highlight of their visit was seeing their adorable baby, Connor. At almost three months old, he's become quite the little traveler. Of course, Maddie and Amelia were eager to interact with their live baby doll.

After our friends left, I told Jesse I was going to Zumba and asked if he wanted me to take the kids. He surprised me by suggesting we all go. I've asked Jesse to go to Zumba with me for an entire year now, and he finally joined me. I think he surprised himself by having fun.

I spent the rest of Monday baking 40 potatoes, 

picking up some teenagers, and cooking dinner for the homeless ministry. Seriously, this is a great youth group!

Tuesday was a very cold, lazy day. Jesse went into work for a few hours before going to a dentist appointment. He was home before lunch. The kids and I played most of the morning.

We continued our lazy afternoon with naps and zoning out in front of technology. We took advantage of kids eat free at Dennys. The kids were amazing well behaved. We colored and drew while waiting for our food.

Denny's really does offer a shocking amount and variety of food. For $14, we shared grapes, apples, pancakes, spaghetti, pizza, hamburger, chips and salsa, eggs, bacon, and chicken nuggets.

Jackson still doesn't have school tomorrow since he doesn't attend on Wednesdays. It's another day with temperatures in the 30's, so I'm not sure what we'll find to entertain ourselves.