Swashbucklers & Buccaneers

It seems like Sunday after church is our time to do things as a family.  Bob and I like to spend Saturday doing nothing (like mowing the lawn, playing with the kids, and laundry), but on Sunday's we get up and go to church, and once the kids are in the car, the hard part of leaving the house is over.  Last Sunday, Matt & Maggie invited us to come with them and Miss Ella to the Pirate Gathering in St. Augustine.

Having been to St. Augustine recently, Bob and I loaded up two strollers and were ready for action.  It ended up being a small field with lots of stuff for the kids.  The first thing we saw were the bounce houses.  It ended up being a pretty good deal - $5 for all you can jump.  Bob and I were both afraid that  the money would be wasted on Ryan, but after a few in and outs, he decided to bounce.

Ry really liked the Ocean Adventure bounce house.  It was open at the top and had lots of things to climb on, so it was right up his alley.

James, as always, could't be coaxed out of the bounce house for anything, although, when I told him it was time to go and he needed to come with us, he hopped right out.  I was truly impressed at how compliant he was.

After leaving the bouncing houses, we headed over to the ponies.  This is the face of James learning that we would not be riding the ponies.

Miss Maggie made it all better by purchasing some pony feed and passing it out.  The boys and Ella really loved feeding the ponies.

 Ryan kept trying to feed the working ponies as opposed to the two who were sitting in the pens nearby.  I assume it was his shameless ploy to entreat them to give him a free ride.

Michael also enjoyed feeding the ponies.  I was a little concerned about him trying to hop the fence and get some pony action.  This is the hat he must wear when riding his horse at home, so since he was wearing the proper hat, I was concerned he was not going to leave peacefully.

Ella's got her choice of boyfriends, but here Ryan applies for the job.  They are only a couple of months apart in age, but Miss E is already learning how to use the potty.  I keep asking the boys if they want to poopoo in the potty like pirates (I've even bought pirate hats to use like it says to in our book), but so far, our forays onto the potty have been either post peeing in the tub (Ryan mostly) or when they just feel that the toilet needs a good flushing.  I'm sure it'll come in time.  I'm not too worried about it, but since Michael still needs to be taped into his diaper to prevent poop disasters and reckless peeing during nap time, I think we still have a ways to go.

Of the boys, Ryan is by far the most cautious.  He doesn't really approach strangers and is pretty shy.  James, on the opposite end of the spectrum, will go up to just about anyone, grab their hand and try and lead them around.  Usually, he is so cute that he cons whomever he's chosen as a victim pretty easily.

Matt & Maggie got the boys a pirate sword to get them in the mood for some swashbuckling.  They loved them, and before we even made it to the gathering, a couple of swords had their tips and handles well chewed.  Here, the kids paused to watch a three piece pirate band and some very mobile belly dancers.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of the talent, but trying to stage a photo op is just not something that happens very frequently in our on the go family.

After the roving band of musicians, we headed to the tent to watch the pirate band play Scottish tunes.  It made me wish that John & Lainie could have been there.  I enjoyed the band.  I can't speak for the rest of the adults (of the four of us, I'm probably the only one whose musical knowledge is limited to the spectrum of George Strait to U2 and who has only recently been able to identify the specific sounds instruments in a rock band make - don't even attempt to get me past the tubas in other types of music).  I think it ended up being a good thing we only stayed for a couple of songs, because on the next peppy tune, I was going to drag my boys on the dance floor and show them a good time.  Sadly, Bob doesn't even pretend to want to dance with me, so I've got to train the next generation up right.

Ryan and I listening to the music.  He loved watching all the pirates, and the occasional cannon fire didn't seem to bother him.

Michael loved his sword.  He spent lots of time swishing it about in the general direction of his brothers heads.

Michael and Ella show us how to jump, jump.  Michael was fascinated by the mesh doors that kept the kids from falling out of the bounce house.  He might just grow up to be like his Grandpa Robin and spend some time as a bouncer.  Of course, now that I've typed that I might want to reconsider.  It probably would not mean that he had chosen a proper path to stratospheric success if he's a bouncer at some night club despite the added benefit of making his grandpa proud.

Maybe he'll be a trainer at Sea World.  Although, according to the local news, that is a pretty dangerous career path as well.

Perhaps, he'll move to Somalia and become a pirate.  Hmm, not sure I like that option either.  I think those automatic weapons might be too much temptation for my toy terrorist to handle.  Guess that means he's back to lawyer like Uncle Zach or some such "respectable" profession.

Ryan and Miss Maggie check out the pirate atop the bounce house.  The straight up bounce house is so 1990.  Our boys like the ones with the big slide.

Ella struts her stuff down the slide.

Michael sets his cap at a jaunty angle and tackles the slide with panache.

James was a slide maniac.  He kept flying down like a madman and going back for more.  I think he'd still be sliding if at all possible.

Ryan absolutely refused to slide.  He did try a couple of times to go up the ladder but the bigger kids and the movement in the bounce house gave him pause and he climbed back out.  I convinced Michael to help Ryan go up the slide, but by the time we made it back to the bounce house and the staircase, Ryan had fled to the whale and octopus inflatable.

At the end of the day, we had a parking lot picnic complete with juice boxes, granola bars, and costumes.  I love how James and Michael are holding hands.  They caught up with Ryan to hold his hand too, but by that point I was  too busy passing out beverages and costumes to capture it on memory card.