Wordless Wednesday: We’re The Knights Who Say FOUR!
Category: Fun
Mini-golfing and Fribbles with NHL
Our plans on Sunday changed rather quickly. Originally, we were going to use our season passes to Six Flags one last time. Then, JSL started coughing in his sleep. His barking cough indicated that he was fighting something off which was aggravating his asthma. We decided that bringing him to a big park where he would encounter a lot of germs was not the best idea. So we split up. B took JSL to her parents’ house to play. Meanwhile, NHL and I went out for some father-son fun.
First, we went mini-golfing. I had meant for us to go to the indoors mini-golf course that we have gone to before. Instead, NHL insisted that he wanted to play on the outdoors one. Considering that it was a nice day, decently warm (with jackets on) and sunny, I agreed. We paid, got some balls and clubs and followed the footprints to the outdoors course.
There were two courses. The Castle Course (holes 1 – 18) and Knight Course (holes 19 – 36). We opted to do the Castle Course. During the golfing, NHL seemed to be in a rush. He just wanted to go hole after hole to see what the next one had to offer. I had to remind him to slow down, wait for me, and take his time. It’s a good thing we weren’t keeping score. Oftentimes, he wasn’t putting the ball so much as he was herding it.
On the last hole, he – with my approval – resorted to using his feet to block the ball from falling back down. I even helped him by kicking it. Hey, that was a tough hole and we were having fun! That’s the most important thing.
After we finished the 18 holes, we decided to walk the Knights Course. No, we wouldn’t be playing it, but we could “preview” it and take some photos along the way. Of course, we were careful not to interrupt anyone’s play. There was a group in front of us at one point and I used this time to remind NHL to be patient and to keep in mind that their golfing experience was more important than our walk around the course.
During the walk, we noticed a bunch of statues and I had NHL pose with each of them.
Finally, it was time to return our golf clubs (the balls automatically return after the 18th hole) and leave. I intended to take NHL out for ice cream, but again plans changed. I remembered that we had a Friendly’s coupon at home. A quick stop at our house and then we were headed out. The coupon was good for one free ice cream drink (Fribble, milk shake, etc) with the purchase of one. NHL decided to get a strawberry Fribble. I ordered a vanilla one. The waitress returned with two strawberry Fribbles. When I pointed out that I ordered vanilla, she apologized and offered to get me a new one. I decided that strawberry actually sounded better and opted to keep the one she brought.
NHL and I had a great time talking and drinking our Fribbles. NHL did complain to the waitress that their play mats were too easy. I had to remind him that not everyone is as smart as he is and younger kids could use the mats. Somehow, I don’t think restaurant coloring mats are designed for the gifted set. (For her part, the waitress took the “complaint” in stride and thought that NHL was cute. Yes, yes he is.)
There was another (delayed) upside to going to Friendly’s. Since I tweeted photos of our trip on 10/10/10, I wound up being one of ten winners of Friendly’s 10-10-10 contest! Looks like we’re going back to Friendly’s again!
Finally, we stopped at a nearby grocery store to pick up some supplies before heading home. The only excitement there was spotting a Cabot car. Nothing like a plaid car to liven up an otherwise ordinary grocery store trip!
Maybe next time, NHL will go somewhere with B and I will take JSL someplace fun. Or I could take both of the boys and B could have some quiet time. Or B’s parents could take the boys and B and I could have a date night. (Don’t get nearly enough of those.) Don’t get me wrong, spending time with all of us together is great, but I also value time alone with my kids (either one, the other or both) and time alone with my wife.
Bouncy Birthday Fun
Over the weekend, we went to see Uncle I, Aunt M, and Cousins S & B for Cousin S’s third birthday party. The boys were surprised to find out that a bounce house was going to be part of the party fun.
At 9am, the bounce house arrived and was set up while the kids played on the swings/slide play area that I & M bought since the last time we were there.
Swinging festivities were cut short, though, as the kids became fascinated by the ever-growing bounce house.
Shoes were kicked off and the bouncing began. JSL was a little hesitant at first, but he soon figured out how much fun a bounce house could be!
There were also games of hug-and-fall.
After the party ended, and the kids had left, B, JSL, Cousin S, NHL and I had some special bounce-time where I tried to get shots of everyone in mid-air.
The photo of me is blurry, but it was tough shooting conditions. (Darker inside than outside, fast moving subject *AND* shooter moving as well.)
B kept teasing me by doing grand flops…. when I wasn’t ready to take a photo of her. This led to many a blurred photo of an airborne angel but I did manage to snag a few good ones.
JSL and NHL were sad to see the bounce house go. I see a visit to a local bounce house play area in our future! Thanks, Uncle I and Aunt M for such a fun time and happy birthday Cousin S!
Fun Days Of Cows and Ferris Wheels
My parents visited over the weekend and we all had a blast. First, we went to a local playground. While B pushed JSL on the swing, NHL skipped the usual slides/climbing playtime routines to check out the hedge maze. Soon enough, his brother joined us and we were running through the winding hedge maze paths together. We also checked out the duck pond which seemed short on ducks but loaded with fish and people sailing model boats.
After this, we went to a local ice cream place for a sweet treat. Here we learned three important lessons: 1) Their small is really large, 2) They have huge ears of corn for sale, and 3) They’ve got cows! In fact, JSL seemed more interested in the moo-ing cows than his ice cream. (Sadly, the cows weren’t out on a return trip the next day.)
The next day, we went to the Altamont Fair with my parents, B’s parents, B’s brother, his wife and their kids (aged 2 and 5 months). Here we went on a lot of rides:
We also saw horses and rabbits:
By far the most terrifying experience (for me, at least) was the ferris wheel. You see, I have a huge fear of falling. So why would I willingly go up 100 feet in one? For the photo opportunity of course! My photo geekery did battle with my falling fear and won. In the photos below, see if you can spot B and our families talking. (For a better look, click on the photos.)
All in all, it was a fun, but exhausting couple of days. It didn’t help that the day after this was NHL’s 7th birthday party. But that’s a post for another day.
Twisting and Sliding Fun with Rubik’s Slide
Growing up, I loved Rubik’s Cubes, but I had a horrible secret: I couldn’t solve one. I could get one side all solved, but that was it. After that, I was just helplessly twisting and turning until another color was solved… and the first one was scrambled. Still, I loved spending time twisting and turning them trying to figure it out.
A while back, I won a Rubik’s TouchCube and I loved it. It was just like the Rubik’s Cube, only with touch-sensitive pads. You could have the cube self-solve too. This was cool, but it wound up not getting used often. The problem was two-fold. First, I still couldn’t solve it on my own. Secondly, I didn’t have much time to spend trying to solve it.
These problems turn into advantages with the Rubik’s Slide. Mine happened to come without a manual. While this mistake was quickly fixed, I was able to figure it out in a few minutes. You basically have six possible moves: Slide Up, Slide Down, Slide Left, Slide Right, Twist Left or Twist Right.
Meanwhile, the “playing surface” has been simplified. No longer do you need to get 54 colors into the appropriate locations along a cube. Instead, you need to get up to 9 lit up squares (either red or blue) to match the appropriate pattern. Not only is this easier, but there are three modes of play: Easy, Medium and Hard. You can find the level that suits you best and play that one without feeling like the puzzles are way too difficult.
Rubik’s Slide has two modes of play. In Free Play, you solve puzzle after puzzle for as long as you like. In Lightning Round, you solve 10 puzzles as quickly as you can.
Here’s a video I shot of me solving a few Easy Free Play puzzles. (It looks more difficult than it is because I was videoing with one hand and twisting/sliding with the other.)
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This is definitely a fun addition to the Rubik’s family and I would recommend it to anyone. It’s great for involved puzzle solving sessions or a quick game here or there. I’ll even be bringing mine to BlogHer just in case I get the urge to solve a puzzle or two.
Disclaimer: I recieved a complimentary Rubik’s Slide to review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed above are my own.