The last weekend in June we decided to throw the kids in the van and head over to Dayton, OH to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for the Freedom's Call Tattoo show.
Shyler and I concluded at the end of the night there is no better way to celebrate our nation's
Independence than on a military base amongst servicemen and women. The kids did really well despite our lack of planning in providing a few boredom outlets while we waited for sundown. In these desperate moments I am grateful our girls have spectacular
imaginations and know how to use yellow restraining tape as part of their
concocted games. Perhaps next year we'll actually go into the belly of the beast where the music is playing and all of the the special venues are set up. Since this was our first time we stayed on the outskirts away from the noise and commotion of 70,000 people.
Some of our best moments as a family happen when it is just us. When the hub and I decide to be semi-spontaneous, ( I say semi because one must make
preparations when two of the kiddos are still in diapers), and take the kids on a new adventure I am surprised that majority of the time it turns out really well. I can hardly recall a time of spontaneity when
Shyler and I both rolled our eyes and said, "Okay, scratch that idea. That was not fun at all!" For some reason the kids behave like civilized and respectful little people. One of my greatest thrills as a parent is providing new experiences for our children. I don't want the kids to simply be in the experience. I want them to soak it in and love it, revere it, and cherish it. If they don't appear to be doing these things we just scold them and say, "You better start cherishing this experience or you're going to the car Mister!" I guess its about the quest for knowledge and teaching my kids to love the journey of learning. I always imagined being that type of mom who takes their kids to the museum and shows them really cool art and rein acts a fascinating event from history or does explosive science experiments with them. Becoming that mom is a work in progress for me. Perhaps when the kids are all grown Coy will tell the others what a cool mom I was while he was a kid and the other three will look at him with
bewilderment in their eyes. I'm certain by the time our 4
th kid is old enough to enjoy our rendezvous's I will have the cool mom persona down.
The very best part of the night for me was when we started heading home. This sounds like I didn't enjoy the experience. I actually loved it! Let me explain: We were in traffic trying to head out of town for nearly 30 minutes. In that time our little darlings all fell into a deep slumber. The inside of the van was completely quiet! It was heavenly! Do you know what made it even better? Before we hit the ramp for the interstate we stopped at BK and got a strawberry milkshake to share. The kids never had a clue! So the hub and I drove home with nary a peep from our little peeps while enjoying some good companion conversation and an artificial strawberry shake. Ice cream isn't truly an indulgence until you try to eat it without your kids knowing!
The last weekend in June we decided to throw the kids in the van and head over to Dayton, OH to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for the Freedom's Call Tattoo show. Shyler and I concluded at the end of the night there is no better way to celebrate our nation's Independence than on a military base amongst servicemen and women. The kids did really well despite our lack of planning in providing a few boredom outlets while we waited for sundown. In these desperate moments I am grateful our girls have spectacular imaginations and know how to use yellow restraining tape as part of their concocted games. Perhaps next year we'll actually go into the belly of the beast where the music is playing and all of the the special venues are set up. Since this was our first time we stayed on the outskirts away from the noise and commotion of 70,000 people.
Some of our best moments as a family happen when it is just us. When the hub and I decide to be semi-spontaneous, ( I say semi because one must make preparations when two of the kiddos are still in diapers), and take the kids on a new adventure I am surprised that majority of the time it turns out really well. I can hardly recall a time of spontaneity when Shyler and I both rolled our eyes and said, "Okay, scratch that idea. That was not fun at all!" For some reason the kids behave like civilized and respectful little people. One of my greatest thrills as a parent is providing new experiences for our children. I don't want the kids to simply be in the experience. I want them to soak it in and love it, revere it, and cherish it. If they don't appear to be doing these things we just scold them and say, "You better start cherishing this experience or you're going to the car Mister!" I guess its about the quest for knowledge and teaching my kids to love the journey of learning. I always imagined being that type of mom who takes their kids to the museum and shows them really cool art and rein acts a fascinating event from history or does explosive science experiments with them. Becoming that mom is a work in progress for me. Perhaps when the kids are all grown Coy will tell the others what a cool mom I was while he was a kid and the other three will look at him with bewilderment in their eyes. I'm certain by the time our 4th kid is old enough to enjoy our rendezvous's I will have the cool mom persona down. 
The very best part of the night for me was when we started heading home. This sounds like I didn't enjoy the experience. I actually loved it! Let me explain: We were in traffic trying to head out of town for nearly 30 minutes. In that time our little darlings all fell into a deep slumber. The inside of the van was completely quiet! It was heavenly! Do you know what made it even better? Before we hit the ramp for the interstate we stopped at BK and got a strawberry milkshake to share. The kids never had a clue! So the hub and I drove home with nary a peep from our little peeps while enjoying some good companion conversation and an artificial strawberry shake. Ice cream isn't truly an indulgence until you try to eat it without your kids knowing!
3 comments:
Well I am glad you got to actually SEE the Fireworks this year! It looks like you guys had a lot of fun!
I like your haircut, Britt! I'm glad you and Shyler got some peace and quiet at the end of the night. When are you guys making a spontaneous trip up to the Motor City?
I love those moments where you can be sneeky. For example, Josh and I shared a snickers bar I got from the primary for substituting right in front of the kids without them even noticing.
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