Bowling Beauties

Today we had a family outing to the local bowling alley. Since we were bowling with children, we requested that bumpers be put up in our lane. That benefitted my game greatly, as well as Mark's (although he'll deny it if you ask him). We had a lot of fun, and managed to squeeze in 2 full games during our allotted 2 hour time slot. That's quite an accomplishment, given that 50% of the balls rolled down the alley were moving slowly enough to make you wonder if they were ever going to make it to the pins without coming to a complete stop.
Ironically, even with the bumpers, I wasn't able to beat Kara in either game. Seriously. What 3 year-old can score a 117? The better question might be, what adult can't manage to break 100 with bumpers?! Even more ironic is the fact that I actually took bowling as a class in college. Hey, don't judge ... I needed the physical education hours. And the GPA boost. Thanks mom and dad!

The girls and I went bowling once last summer, but this was Jack's first experience with the whole scene. He tired himself (and mommy and daddy) by climbing up and down the steps, sticking his fingers in the ball return (just asking for a finger pinching), pushing buttons on the scoring system, begging for drinks from the drinking fountain, getting in every bowler's way (on our lane and the two adjacent to us) and attempting to pull bowling balls down from the shelves (just asking for a broken toe).

He was quiet for a moment, however, when he noticed the cool breeze he could get by putting his face up against the fan at the end of the ball return.

By the end of the two hours, my back hurt, my patience was lost, and I was wondering why it is that we even attempt to go on these "family outings". Then I remembered. To tire 'em out and get them good and ready for naptime!

Mission accomplished!