CHESAPEAKE - Todd Allen acknowledged it was quite hot Saturday, but not hot enough to prevent a little family competition and fun before it is back to the books this week for his children.

Allen and his children were enjoying a family outing on Saturday afternoon at the Chesapeake Driving Range, the target for this week's Dart, playing a round of miniature golf.

Although they did appear to be keeping score, the family was all smiles as they laughed and encouraged each other around the course.

"This is fun for them," Allen said as he waited to take his turn after his daughter, Macy. "They like getting out here and doing this."

Allen said he and the children have been hanging out this week, and they decided to come down and play a game of miniature golf before possibly going over to Ribfest in Huntington, W.Va., for the evening.

"It's a lot of fun just watching them," he said as Macy took her turn, while brothers Nic and Max moved on to the next hole.

Ten-year-old Macy Allen said she really enjoyed spending time with her family and the whole family likes sports and playing together.

Macy said her favorite thing about the day's event was just being around the family and having a fun activity.

"It's mostly fun because you learn new things and get to spend time with family," she said.

As enthusiastic as she was about the golf game, Macy admits that she is not ready to go back to school on Friday. This will be the Allens' first year at Chesapeake Schools and Macy Allen said that making new friends is going to be her favorite part.

Her 14-year-old brother, Nic, is on the Chesapeake High School golf team. He said that although he and his father do go golfing frequently, they do not play putt-putt a lot and that his favorite thing about the outing was, "having fun with my family."

As 5-year-old brother Max prepares to sink his ball into the last hole, he agrees that he likes spending time with dad and his brother and sister and he "likes playing putt-putt."

But when asked about his favorite part of putt-putt, he stops, looks up with his big eyes and a somewhat mischievous smile on his face and makes a very matter-of-fact statement.

"I love beating my dad."