Columbus Commons Family Fun Day

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We are always on the look out for inexpensive things to do with the kids around town…and sometimes it is not easy! Hell, just going to McDonalds will run a family of four $20+ these days.

So when I heard about the Columbus Commons Family Fun Day, I was excited. It is free to walk around and look, but what fun is that? It only costs $5 per kid for an all day pass to all of the activities.

Instead of rambling on about what a good deal it was, how about I share some pictures to show how much the kids enjoyed it!!!

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How Do You Know You Spend Too Much Time Playing Bejeweled Blitz On Facebook?

Bejweled Blitz

Bejweled Blitz

So how do you know when you spend too much time playing Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook?

Maybe you check the leader board while on break at work to make sure that no one has beaten your score!

Could it be that you find yourself organizing the cans in your cabinets into groups of three?

Do you dream up ways to sabotage that person’s computer who will always get 200,000 points every single week and you’re lucky to get 100, 000?!

Or maybe…just maybe…a good sign would be your two year old, who only speaks the language of Nick Jr, running around the house saying, “One Minute…Go!”…”Bang Bang Crash”…”A New High Score!”

Maybe…just maybe…that would mean that you play just a little too much.  😀

That Crazy Blue Elephant

Well, that crazy blue elephant has returned again this summer…reekin’ havoc upon Ace in his very own backyard.

That Crazy Blue Elephant

That damned thing comes out every time it gets warm and teases him with a small shower of cool water, just big enough for a three foot tall person to run through and cool down on a hot summer day.

And then once he gets close enough to enjoy the small shower… WHASHOOSH!  The elephant explodes with a massive flood of freezing cold water that pours down on him…sending him into shock and he runs for his  life…  😀

He reaches safety just in time to see the monsoon turn once again into a small pleasant shower.

And then he does it again…and again…and again…

But after a while he starts to catch on…

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…and he realize that there is a certain someone ( with a camera ) that is enjoying this a little too much.  This certain someone turns a knob connected to the hose every time the monsoon rains down on him.

He is getting smarter…wiser…more experienced.  It looks like that certain someone will have to step up their game in order to keep fooling this toddler.  😀

Crack Is Whack!

This weekend we took Ace and his cousin Olivia to Circle S Farms. You enter through a pathway with corn stalk walls and are greeted by a couple teen age girls who collect your money, and then you proceed to some cool farm-like activities for kids to do.

Circle S Farms - Sign

Circle S Farms - Sign

They had live animals, goats and chickens, for the kids to look at.  They had a playground made of straw bails where kids could climb and slide down.  They had tractors and bug pumpkins to look at and sit on, and also a hay ride that took you out to pick your very own pumpkin!!

Circle S Farms - Goats

Circle S Farms - Goats

Circle S Farms - Chickens

Circle S Farms - Chickens

And then they had the scare crow maze.  It was a maze made from straw bails that was designed, I’m pretty sure, for torturing parents.  The maze was about 3 ft tall and it had a wood slat fence on the top.  So, it was tall enough where kids could run wild inside there, but parents were stuck crawling, duck walking, waddling, or whatever form of propulsion they could come up with while hunched over…

Ace wouldn’t go in the maze, so I took his cousin Olivia inside.  There she goes at a full sprint around the first corner.  I had lost her in the first 20 seconds.

So I keep wallering through this parent torture device.  I was moving as fast as I could trying to find Olivia because I just knew at some point she would get scared and want out, but wouldn’t be able to find her way.  I speedily rounded one corner and was greeted by something that I had least expected to find…

CRACK!  and lots of it!

There was a Mom crawling in front of me wearing low rise jeans…that were riding, well, WAY TOO LOW!  I swore I stopped fast enough for my hands and knees to make a screeching sound in the loose straw!

I stopped inches away from taking a face plant into the recently discovered revene…but far enough away to not smell the flowers. 😀

I was startled, to say the least, and couldn’t help but watch as the landscape I had almost became intimately familiar with bounced it’s way around the next corner.

I put myself back together, gathered my senses, and continued my way through the parent trap to eventually find Olivia waiting for me outside…ready to move on to the next “attraction”.

And now I know why the say, “Crack Is Whack!”

And to help you remove the image of my face inches away from a three quarter exposed bum…I’ll leave you with a few pics from the crack free portion of our day at Circle S Farms

Circle S Farms - Us

Circle S Farms - On The Hay Ride Blinded By The Sun (Ace was the only smart one who wouldn't look directly into the sun to get his picture taken.) 😀

Circle S Farms - Pumpkin

Circle S Farms - Pumpkin

Circle S Farms - Ace

Circle S Farms - Ace

Circle S Farms - Dad & Ace

Circle S Farms - Dad & Ace

An Ass Kickin’ Saturday

Today was a good day…one of the better ones I’ve had recently.  What did I do?  Nothing which will make you say “WOW!  Jared is truly amazing!”  Ace and I simply hung out all day long.

Ya see it has been a while since Ace and I have really been able to hang out…guy style.  I’m talking getting up early, running around in nothing but a diaper (underwear for me), getting dirty while playing in the dirt with no shoes on (and not wiping it off), riding the mower (which still doesn’t mow by the way), eating sand out of the sandbox when Dad turns his back for a half a second (it comes out looking like sand too),  going to the park (got even more dirty), and then coming home to relax on the couch and watch some Noggin till Momma gets home.  Good times…good times!

I’ve been working long hours during the week, usually getting home late and only seeing Ace for about an hour before bedtime.  By the time I get home the nightly routine has began…dinner, bath time, PJs, and shortly after…bed time.

Then on the weekends we usually have some place to go and someone to see.

When Momma was working, Ace and I hung out guy style all the time on the weekends, but now that Momma stays home all week she really wants to go somewhere on the weekend, so we are very rarely home on the weekend.

I think I may start offering Momma the chance to get out of the house to be kid and husband free on Saturday, which will give her a chance to go hang out with some of her friends and give Ace and I more of a chance to do our guy things.  😀

Sounds like an even trade to me, you think so?

On top of having an awesome day with Ace I also  discovered a few bloggy friends gave me some cool awards and props!

Brilliante Weblog Award

KylieM from My Digital Life gave me the Brilliante Weblog award.  KylieM is a long time reader here at DadThing.  If you are into scrapbooking, photography, or kid stuff… you should definitely check out one of her blogs.

And then John over at ModernParent.org links to a few of my posts.  John is a first time father who shares his experiences about being a father in the 21st century.  Check out his blog for some cool stories and parenting tips from the perspective of a new father.

Kick Ass Blogger Award

And last, but not least VegasDad, from iVegasFamily, awarded me with the kick as blogger award!  Any award with the word “ass” in it has to be cool…well, unless it is preceded by the word “dumb” or “stupid” or “stank”…you get the point!  Go check out Vegas Dad’s blog.  I promise it is not dumb, stupid, or stank…just kickin’  😀

Oh yeah……Momma went to the doctor on Friday and is definitely pregnant.  The suggested due date is April 11th.  We like spring babies around here…or Momma only ovulates around the month of June.  Who knows…  😀

Hostinger