Fabulous Fun Friday

I always look forward to Fridays.

It's the end of my week. It's the start of a weekend. And... it's Fabulous Fun Friday.

Grom and I spend the day with his "friend buddy" Elias and my "friend buddy" Stacey (Elias' mom). We've been doing this quite a while. It's about time I blogged about it.

Grom and I swing by their house and pick them up. I put the "Grom" playlist on my iPod and we're off. The boys yap in the back seat. The moms yap in the front seat.

We start with some grocery shopping. Always Trader Joe's, sometimes Von's or Foods For Less. We have even ventured all the way to the "Train Wreck Store" in Santa Maria.
Our local TJ's is great. They have the nicest women working there (especially on Friday mornings). They know our names and are always so good to the boys - special "snacks" just for the boys when they are sampling items for the adult pallet.

They also have a very lazy employee, Sally the Seal. She always finds somewhere to hide so she can slack off. When kids find her, they get a treasure from the barrel.
She hides really well. Sometimes we have to walk through the store twice. Sometimes the boys ask for hints. She turns up in the funniest places... with the bananas, by the ice cream, on top of signs... she gets around.
Here she's lounging amongst the TP. If it's not a prize from the barrel, it might be a balloon or stickers.
At least they aren't stuck all over the inside of my car windows. (I can't figure out why in the world parents let their kids do that.) Start paying attention, check out those minivans and SUVs... stickers! Crazy! Anyway back on topic...
Insulated totes are key to FFF and not having to run right home to put those groceries away. Check out those "green" bags. I have quite a collection. Most are from the last time we worried about the planet. I think we were trying to save trees then and do away with the paper bag. Ha! Now plastic bags are evil. Wow another rabbit trail... back on topic...
After the groceries are loaded, we head to Starbucks. Here's a shot of the boys sitting like proper gentlemen. Yep... that's Grom sitting on his head.
Stacey and I get a drink and we're off to gymnastics. My newest favorite is a Decaf Pike's Place Misto.
Gymnastics has been great for both of the boys. Grom has learned to listen and follow directions. Elias has learned to be more adventurous. It's a fantastic facility.From the Observation Deck, Stacey and I solve the world's problems while the boys run through their stations.
Here's Grom with strong arms on the parallel bar. You should see him flip.Here's Elias jumping so fast on the trampoline that he's blurry.
Here's Grom hamming for his mommy in the ball pit.
Here's Elias zooming down the slide.

After gymnastics, we usually get lunch from Panda Express. It's cheap and the boys like it and well... the moms like it too. We use coupons from the survey on the back of each receipt and get an even better deal.
We head to a park. After eating the boys play. Stacey and I work on the any world problems that we've left unsolved.

Getting my grocery shopping done is fun.
Watching the boys flip and balance and jump and laugh is fun.
Going out to lunch is fun.
Playing at the park is fun.

But the best part and what I really look forward to is spending time with my friend, Stacey. She is a blessing from God. We have a lot in common and there are a lot of ways that we are really different. It's an "iron sharpening iron" relationship. I learn from her and she learns from me.

She makes Fridays fabulous.