The weekend...

Stayed at the hotel with the hubby and three of my four kiddos this past weekend. Middle Boy was in his last crew race of the season, and we decided to road-trip it down there and watch. Middle Boy had to stay in the hotel with his team, we didn't see much of him, unfortunately (or "fortunately" if you are Oldest Boy).

I must say, there is just nothing to compare with watching your child pull a boat at a phenomenal pace, with Mom screaming her lungs raw (not that he can hear me out there, but it's really hard to contain myself).

We took the boys out to dinner on Saturday night, to a "Japanese Steakhouse"...why they ever started calling themselves that I'll never know...sort of goofy.  You know the type, where they cook your food on the huge hibachi grill right front of you, making you sweat and leaving you smelling like a short-order cook.

The small boys, of course, love the flames and smoke and the juggling of the spatulas...Mom  loves the stack of vegetables they always leave on their plates, and the need for a second mortgage to pay the bill at the end...but it's all in the name of family fun, though, right? Right-o.

The little cuties loved the hotel room, wanting to turn on all the televisions (there were 3!) and hairdryers (you know the ones attached to the walls in the hotel bathrooms), open every closet door, look out every window. Baby Boy actually teared up when it was time to go, he was so enamored with the place.

They swam in the pool...don't even think it, you KNOW I didn't get in my bathingsuit....got their eyes blistered with the amount of chlorine (I told them that lots of chlorine in there is a good thing, "Just don't open your eyes!"), and ate at the hotel's breakfast buffet like they hadn't had a meal in weeks (meanwhile I'm still reeling over the bill from the restaurant the night before).

I'm so grateful that we had the chance to go "hang out". It seems like we are so busy now, eating dinner at different times, coming and going so much, that to just sit with my men and relax (well, kind of) was really a blessing.

Now I just have to do a presoak on our laundry, to get that "freshly deep fried" scent out of it...