Monkey Bread and Monkey Bars

On Saturday the whole family went out for a fun filled day of shopping. While in Williams Sonoma picking out a gift for Grammie we found a Monkey Bread pan.

Dad used to make Monkey Bread when he was a boy, so he was so excited to teach me. We bought the pan and a few other Christmas gifts, said good bye to the ducks and turtles in the NorthPark mall fountain, and headed home.

On Sunday Dad and I woke up real early and made Monkey Bread.
Getting our ingredients ready. Who wants to help make monkey bread?
Showing daddy where to put the monkey bread.
First, we cut up the biscuit dough into small pieces and then we rolled them around in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.
Mommy helped cut the biscuits while I rolled them in the plastic baggy filled with sugar and cinnamon.
After we put the sugared biscuit pieces into the pan, we then covered the biscuits with a mixture of butter and brown sugar. We then put the monkey bread in the oven to bake. Be careful, the oven's hot. We don't touch. It made the house smell so good. And while it finished cooking in the oven Dad went out to Starbucks to get our usual (which is coffee for Mom and Dad and yummy chocolate milk for me).

Here's the finished product. It turned out so yummy! Mommy and Daddy said I did such a great job.
Later that day, Dad finally took me to the park. He had been promising me since Saturday some quality park time and now it was finally here. He let me pick out the park. Did I pick the one closest to the house or right up the hill?.......no way, those get boring fast. I picked out the new park in Las Colinas. I think my parents like it the best too, because it is so clean and the equipment is very safe for an adventurous boy like me. Here I am showing off all the new tricks and strength training I have learned in my sports classes and gymnastics.

Feat of strength #1 Balance and climbing.

Feat of Strength #2: Climbing on a steep vertical incline.

Feat of Strength #3: Climbing up a high arch while maintaining balance.

Feat of Strength #4: Finishing the climb and pulling myself safely all the way to the landing.

Feat of Strength #5: Fireman pole climb.

Feat of Strength #6: Reverse Fireman Pole Climb.

Feat of Strength #7: Speed and Agility through small confined spaces.

Feat of Strength #8: Balancing from one wobble pole to another.

Feat of Strength #9: Jumping from the last pole to the landing. (Also, known as the scariest place to fall, so this step is often accompanied by a loud rendition of my parents saying "Be careful", "Don't fall", "Watch what you are doing", etc). I'm a pro at this, so I don't mind their shouts of worry and concern as they swiftly change to "Good Job", "You did it!" and my favorite, "I'm so proud of you".

Feat of Strength #10: Walking down the slide. Sitting on your rear to play is for computer gamers. (Though, I still like to slide down real fast slides.

Feat of Strength #11: The Monkey Bars. I have never done these by myself. Usually I just watch Dad or he holds me up. But now that I'm super tall I can reach them myself.

See that stretch and reach. Now all I need is a few more inches so I can get the other arm up with some momentum, but I'm almost there.

Outtakes: Fireman pole mishap. I thought it was a slide for a second or two.

Funny me, stuck in the hole. Dad, can you please put down the camera already and help me?

Smiles for Dad while trying to convince him that 5 more minutes is not going to be enough.

The ultimate feat of strength going from two unassociated pieces of playground equipment with no hands. Dad said we can't show this picture to Mom, otherwise we might not be allowed to hang out together anymore or she will send us to the park with helmets, elbow pads and Nerf bodysuits.

Climbing up a chain link fence. Dad said this skill will come in handy on days when it says the park is closed but we still want to play. Again, he said we can't show this picture to Mom.

Someone was having a party and they brought Batman to their party.....how cool. Dad says it's a pinata, not sure what that means, but I'm wondering if they have these at Thanksgiving, Christmas or when babies are born, because I really can't wait to get a pinata.

After a full day of playing I said I didn't need a nap. Mom said if I wanted that I could watch a movie in her bed while she took a bubble bath. (Dad was downstairs recovering with his feet on the couch from the park). I didn't last long into the movie, but it was a good attempt to stay awake.

After nap was over, we went to the toy store and I got to pick out all the toys I wanted thanks to some Happy Birthday gift cards. I settled on a Jessie doll from Toy Story and a few Batman action figures. Then I requested dinner (which never happens, as I'm a light eater), and downed 4 chicken nuggets, fries, yogurt and milk. Who knew that all that playing and shopping could make someone so hungry. I had a great weekend with my parents and am looking forward to our last weekend of a family of three.