Going Bananas and the Theatre

Our family has been enjoying a "mini-vacation" of sorts the past couple of days.  Mike took a day off work yesterday and since the family finances won't allow a trip back home (big sigh) or a trip anywhere too far off for that matter, we've been creative and found some fun and fairly inexpensive things to do around home.

Yesterday we took the family to the Monkey Playhouse in Cape Coral.  We grabbed a couple of pizzas at Little Caesars and made our way rather quickly to the air conditioned indoor play place.  As a side note:  We went rather quickly, because our other car, the one with the working air conditioner, is at the shop suffering from transmission issues while we suffer in Mike's car with no air conditioner.

The two little ones had a really good time and if the truth be told I think Cecily kinda enjoyed herself too.  She's really good about playing with the two little ones and helping entertain them.  I might need to insert a warning here:  Picture Overload - Rub your eyes good and get ready.

You know you are a daddy when...

you get on your knees in a children's play place and bounce a pink ball or...

play with puppets, because it makes a certain little 16 month old very happy!

See, I told you the big one had fun too!

Some people text while driving and others play ball while driving!

Introducing the many faces of Bentley:

Buzz LightYear

Buzz wrestling the alligator in the rice box...

Did you know Buzz was only 46 inches tall?

Mr. Incredible

And finally, BatMan

JennaBeth really had a ball at the Monkey Playhouse.  No literally she had a ball...

She tried her best to play in the ball pit, but she couldn't "go" anywhere and just kept sinking further and further down...

She wouldn't slow down long enough to play dress-up, but Cecily did manage to get a blue "tu-tu" on her...

Her and big sister conquered the alligator in the rice box too...

JennaBeth really likes to go down slides...

And finally, BatMan tried to wrangle in the hippo before he completely swallowed up the girls...

Thanks to the thoughtfulness and generosity of a sweet friend, Cecily and I were blessed with tickets to the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre today.  Thank you Kim!!!!  We enjoyed a nice lunch and saw "Cinderella".  I think Cecily was the oldest "little" girl in there!  They were all really cute though and several little girls were dressed up as Cinderella.  The one who sat beside me and kicked my chair the whole time was really adorable:(

Mike took our picture before we left...

I remember, it seems like yesterday, when she was little and loved to dress up as a princess and sometimes she was Cinderella.  Now she is 12 almost thir...thir...teen, did I just say thirteen?  I didn't take my camera thinking you couldn't take pictures during the play.  I forgot that at the children's productions the actors come out after for autographs and pictures.  Oh, but the loveliness of cell phones with the camera function!!!  I had to encourage  force Cecily to take her picture with Prince Charming.  This picture isn't very good, because it is a picture of the picture on my phone...

She also willingly reluctantly took a picture with the two wicked stepsisters, but I couldn't get it to show up at all with the camera.  The stepsisters stole the whole show, because they were played by male actors and were hilarious!!  

So far our "mini-vacation" has been a lot of fun.  We plan to take the kids swimming tomorrow.

Just send me your eye doctor bill and I'll get to it after our car gets through with the transmission doctor!