Happy 4th of July!

I have ever so many awesome posts in my mind about the last few wonderful weeks we have spent in Georgia. BUT for today, I wanted to post something for July 4th. And I promise to get back in the swing with some great vacation stories. . .

We actually had our cookout on July 3rd this year because we are all heading back to Illinois on July 5th. Cooking out and celebrating did not seem wise the day before a big trip. We all went to Mimi's house for some hamburgers and hot dogs that David cooked for us on the grill. I was so fired up because it has been ages since Daddy and David have both been home in Georgia at the same time. AND I am obsessed with family get togethers. I drive everyone crazy because I love my family so much, and I always want to spend as much time as possible with them. I don't need anything fancy. I just like hanging with my peeps! So once I cross the border from Tennessee back into Georgia, my mind is already planning as many suppers and get togethers as possible.

We had a lovely time at Mimi's. We ate and laughed and visited. Poor Momma didn't feel well, so she missed the fun (and food - the food is almost as important as the fun and family time, right?) And Lucas could only stop by at the end, but when you live far away from the fam like I do, you always take whatever you can get!

THEN, my rock star of a father had to leave Mimi's house and head to the Peachtree Expo with David. I have posted before about Bay's involvement in the Peachtree in Atlanta each summer. Oh and in case you are unfamiliar with this awesome race, click here. Well, he and David both had to go to pick up David's number. David was tickled to be able to run his 6th Peachtree this year with Daddy. He'd like to run more, but with his crazy schedule, he is not always in town (or in the country). AND they had to coordinate with the Race Director for Bay to start the overseas races.

After they got everything squared away, they swung by the house to pick up the kids and me. You know we LOVE to go with them to be a small part of the Overseas Peachtree Races. And it was so awesome! This was the 4th time the kids and I went. We had to miss last year because we had just moved. BUT everyone remembered us, and they were so glad to see us. Everyone at the Atlanta Track Club is so friendly and awesome! Their photographer always takes tons of pics and he even shares:

Bay says "GO!" to LTG Webster at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait

And of course, bright and early this morning, Bay and David headed downtown with 55, 000 of their closest friends to run 6.2 miles. The weather was awesome. Many years, it is crazy hot and humid, but our runners said this year was quite comfortable.

Aren't they cute?

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

We are all so blessed and lucky to be Americans.

And we are also blessed to have so many brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines in harms way on this day (and every day) protecting us and keeping us free.

God Bless America!

Bay in Kindergarten

Bay? Really? What in the world could he have done to get sent back to Kindergarten?
Well, I will tell you.

Bay got to go on a super cool, I mean, serious work trip in January to the South Pole. My kids were psyched when he came home with pictures of all of his travels. OK, they mostly liked the pictures with penguins in them. So Jessa said, "Can Bay come to my school and show my class?" I did not want to impose. My compromise was that I would print a penguin picture, and she could take it and share it with her class. She did, and I explained it all to her teacher in a note.

The picture that started it all. . .

The next time I saw her teacher at school, she asked if Bay would be interested in coming to talk about his trip. So maybe it was not an imposition after all. Long story short, after a few weeks, many notes, and a false pregnancy announcement, last Friday, Bay went back to Kindergarten. He was set to speak to ALL 5 Kindergarten classes (about 135 kids!).

Spencer and I went too. Partly because I felt responsible for getting him into the whole thing, and partly because I am nosey and I hate to miss ANYTHING. . . And Spencer went because he had to (but he LOVES going to Jessa's school anytime). I must tell you that the 2 hours that we were rotating between the classes were absolutely priceless. Here are some highlights.

Bay thought a creative way to explain the South Pole was to contrast it with the North Pole. He learned that this was not a great idea because the first 25 questions related to Santa, reindeer, and presents. Lesson learned. He did not use that idea any more. And NO, he did not get to meet Santa Claus!

The questions were so precious. Jessa asked a question about the temperature at the South Pole. OK, she actually asked, "Did you freeze your tookus off?" He laughed and said, "Good question. Yes, it was very cold! 20 degrees below zero - in the summer!" One little boy raised his hand and said, "Do you mean Minus 20?" He said, "Uh, yes, I guess I do." Get it straight, Bay!

There was one slide that he put in to discuss the communications with the South Pole.

I have edited it to protect the identities of the people I do not know.

(Again, forgive my editing, I do not own photo shop nor do I have any idea what I am doing. . .)

So EVERY time he put this slide up, at least one, but usually several kids said,

"Hey, look, there's a dog!"

Did you notice the dog?

Because I did not!

But every class, Daddy had to explain that it was a toy dog because pets are not allowed at the South Pole. Cracked me up!

This speech was at an elementary school adjacent to an AFB, right? Most all of the kids are somehow connected to the Base. Most all of their parents are in the military, right? Well, in one class, a girl raised her hand. Bay pointed to her and said "Yes ma'am?" She said, "My mom is in the Air Force." Bay said, "OK, great." The next 5 hands were the same general idea: "My dad is in the air force." "My mom is in the air force." "My dad is in the army," so at that point Bay said, "Raise you hand if your mom OR dad are in the air force, army, navy, marines?" Whew! That could have gone on ALL DAY! One girl had a slightly different comment, she said, "I want to be in the Army." So Bay told her, "OK, I will send a recruiter right on over!"

At one point, someone asked if there were seals at the South Pole. Bay replied, "Yes." The boy said, "Oh, well, I did not see any pictures of any seals." Bay said, "Uh, well, I did not take any pictures of the seals." The boy said, "Well, why didn't you take any pictures of any seals?" Bay, "Uh, well, I guess I blew it." Priceless!

The kiddos were crazy observant in all the pictures, not just the dog one. They were picking little details out of pictures that we looked over. This picture for instance - it was taken at the Rookery where there were thousands of penguins with baby penguins.

Bay is pointing out that over his shoulder are tons of penguins. And everywhere you see a little black dot, that is a penguin. And again, EVERY class had at least one kid who said, "Look at that bird." Yep, they were focused on the bird flying just behind Bay! I never even noticed that bird until the first class. . .

And when he told them about the sun never going down while he was there, one child was very concerned about that. She asked, "Well, how did you know when to go to bed?" Bay assured her that all you had to do was look at your watch to figure that out.

But perhaps my favorite funny of the day came from my very own child. During the third class, Spencer leaned over and whispered, "Hey Mom, how come Bay keeps saying the same thing over and over and over?" Bless his heart! He knew he had heard this speech before! He was looking for some new material, dontcha know!?

All in all, I think Bay's presentation was a hit. He got several "That was awesome"s as we headed to the next group! Jessa was super proud of her Bay (although she referred to him as her grandfather to keep from confusing everyone)! And Spencer and I loved going from class to class with him. And after it was all over, Bay said he thoroughly enjoyed it! Maybe getting sent back to Kindergarten is not always a bad thing. . .

Camaflougasaurus

When you are a grandfather or in my Daddy's case, a Bay, you find yourself doing all sorts of crazy things. Bay has participated in tea parties, watched Barbie movies, colored a mean picture, been covered in hamburger buns, and many other countless things that secure his place in the Grandpa hall of fame. He is so proud of this accomplishment that he almost started a rumble. Once we were at a function and he motioned for me to come over. I did, and he leaned over and said, "Um, did you see that other guy over there? I think I am going to have to start something." I did not see anyone that looked threatening or menacing, so I looked back at him, puzzled. And he grinned a grin that only he can, and said, "He had the nerve to wear a sweatshirt that says '#1 Grandpa!' How dare he?!" I managed to hold him back, but he did keep an eye on that dude.


Yep, those are hamburger buns.




Well, the other night, Bay came over for supper. I often invite him for supper, especially when David is gone. See, I feel a little guilty if I nuke Chef Boyardee for more than like 3 nights in a row for a hot meal for the kids when David is out of town. And it is wicked hard to cook for me and them. OK, just sort of wasteful - that is a lot of effort to put forth for people who think that marshmallows are a food group. So if Bay comes, then I am not cooking just for me and the cereal gang. Anyhow, supper was finished and I was finishing up cleaning the kitchen. The kids were playing with Bay. They were having so much fun that I had to set the timer to tell them when he had to go. It was a school/work night after all. And they'd play until, well, forever.



I finished loading the dishwasher, and went to check on them. Oh my. Jessa explained to me that Bay was a "Camaflougasaurus" (this term must have stemmed from his still being in uniform). He was a scary beast that they were apparently tracking and hunting in some fashion. They were quite the hunting party, too. They had backpacks packed with supplies (later I found that they were full of pringles and fruit roll ups), weapons (pop guns, umbrellas, and bats), and vehicles (saucer sleds). He was vicious when they wanted him to be, and he retreated when he was told. That's the thing about my kids. They really are easy to play with if you are good at taking directions. I mean it, they even tell you what to say and when. Best not to try and improvise, though. They know best. And Bay is really good at taking directions!



Well, I think that I could explain this to death and you may never really "get it." So how about I show you some pictures I captured of the expedition tracking the rare and illusive Camaflougasarus.



Sometimes it is hard to get a good picture of this creature - it moves really fast!


Note the cap gun aimed upward from the boots of the beast.


Jessa is shielding herself while Spencer fires with his ladybug umbrella weapon.

They are both on the offensive now - Spencer had to bring out the big guns, I mean bat.

Be afraid, be very afraid!

Spencer is wearing a rain coat as protection, from what I am not sure. Maybe the creature spits?

Jessa has put her gun away. Maybe the creature is subdued?

Ah, yes, he is back in his lair. The threat has passed. For now.

So anyway.

I am thinking his #1 Grandpa thing is in the bag.

I am going to head over and order his shirt now.

What you won't do for your grandchildren. . .

Jeep. There's only one.

The follow-up jeep post:
A few years ago, my dear Daddy told Momma that he had the opportunity of a lifetime. For real. He told her that it was his LIFE LONG dream to own an authentic Army Jeep and he found one for sale. Now, my Momma has known this man since 1970. She has been married to him since 1972. And she swore that not once in all that time had he EVER mentioned this dream to her. But he was ever so convincing and she eventually said, "Well, who am I to stand in the way of your dreams?" And so my Daddy became the proud owner of an authentic Army Jeep. This is huge, right? How many people get to realize their lifelong dream? Isn't Bay a lucky man??

Daddy is very cute about this jeep. He is very proud of it. And it has made him quite popular. He cannot even drive this baby around the corner without attracting attention. Lucas has borrowed it lots of times, and he also enjoys being noticed. People ask them questions in parking lots, at red lights, and gas stations. And he is very generous. He'll let anyone (within reason) take it for a spin.

Daddy's jeep has also made appearances in military changes of command and other ceremonies. And it recently made its second consecutive appearance in the O'Fallon Veteran's Day Parade. Now, Daddy has not driven it in the parade himself, but the jeep was you know, representin'.

As it rounded the corner, Daddy said, "Whew, they got it started!"

As I mentioned before, the kids wanted to ride in the jeep right after the parade this year. The drivers did not get it back to Daddy in time, so we mentioned in passing that maybe they could ride it over the weekend.

Since my elephant Spencer remembered this idea, on Saturday afternoon, Bay and Miss Abby come on over and park the jeep on the street by our house. Jessa and a friend immediately come bounding out of the house and straight to the jeep. They were having so much fun that they began to attract other children. Within about 20 minutes, every kid on our street was crawling around in it. I have no idea what the attraction was! But they came out of the woodwork to play and climb and enjoy the jeep. I sat at the open window in the den while the big boys watched football so that I could watch and occasionally intervene. The jeep politics were serious business. You know, who could sit where, who could drive, who could not come in.

The pictures are horrible. They were taken through the screen. I was trying to take pictures without them knowing. Not because I am a stalker, but when I was out there, they were aware of my presence. They were more focused on telling me who was being ugly than on playing.

Shortly after the kids descended on the jeep, the rules were made. Like no shoes in the jeep. And these random kids did not question Jessa and Spencer when they told them they had to take off their shoes. They had a big time. When they were tired of the boys, they would get rid of them by screaming. They "drove" all over. They drove to Hawaii and Alaska. Oh and Jessa had a little noisemaker that we got in Germany that made this yodeling noise. She announced that this noise is made in Alaska, so whenever they were headed there, she would hold the yodeler up high. It was sort of a rally cry. Food and drinks were outlawed after someone spilled some juice. It was some funny stuff.

Throughout the afternoon, they would come and go. They were playing in the jeep and then they were picking weeds. They always came back, though. They sort of reminded us of locusts. All of a sudden, they were just there. Then they would be gone. So Daddy was trying to wait to take our kids for a ride. There are only so many seatbelts, plus that is not the sort of thing that you want to get started, if you know what I mean. Finally, as it was starting to get dark, we bit the bullet and headed out there. At that moment, there was one kid left. She assured us that her parents had said it was fine for her to ride with us. (I took that moment to tell my children that they must always ask me before they even consider getting in the car with a stranger.) I know we are on base, and we do know who this kids parents are, but still. And like her parents would have said, "Oh and daughter, IF someone has an old jeep out in the neighborhood today and IF they offer to take you for a little ride, that would be totally OK with us." Cause you know stuff like that happens every day, right?

So Daddy hooked them in. And as we headed to this gal's house to get actual permission for her to go for a joy ride, our extra passenger said, "Wow, I did not think this thing even worked." We all laughed. I mean how did she think it got there that afternoon?? And seriously, who knew that an army jeep parked on your curb would be such a draw?

So, just in case you are wondering, the point of this post is two-fold. (1) Thanks to the support of his lovely wife, my Daddy achieved his lifelong dream of owning an Army Jeep. And (2) if you are in the market for a way to attract a ton of random, strange kids to your house and entertain them for hours on a Saturday afternoon, we recommend a Vietnam era Army Jeep. Works like a charm.

Ode to Bay

My Daddy rocks. Don't be jealous. He is just the best. He just is. Period.

Living here, near him, near a family member is something that we have never had the chance to do before. Most military families never get the opportunity to be close to "kin." We are so spoiled now, though. He is a part of our daily lives, and it. is. so. awesome.

He has always been a particularly patient man. I never remember him getting really mad at me or Lucas, unless we really messed up. And that was never until we were unruly teenagers. He is very laid back and easy going. And I am a Daddy's girl from the word GO. Momma and I are the best of friends, but there is something about a little girl and her Daddy, right?

Now, if Lucas were here and able to type his 2 cents worth, he was start saying that I was so spoiled and I whined to get my way. But he is not here. And this is my blog, so I can say what I want to, so I was not spoiled! (Who am I kidding, anyway?)

My Daddy is the man who once flew to Germany for 36 hours because I did not want to fly to Atlanta alone. He even fed me my supper on the plane because I was hiding a sweet little Westie under my blanket. One time, we were leaving a restaurant, and I wanted a pink gumball. The man spent tons of money trying to get me a pink one. We finally left in defeat. But the next day when he came home from work, he had a small blue jewelry box in his hand. I opened it, and there it was - a pink gumball. When I was 4, he was going to have to miss my ballet recital. So he came to the dress rehearsal instead. And even though it was not the real thing, he still brought me roses. And I may have mentioned this before, but he was also out of town on my 16th birthday. But I will never forget sitting in my English class and having a telegram delivered to me wishing me a happy birthday. That is the one and only time I ever got a telegram. I am sure that Lucas has many memories, too. His would be a little different and focus on fishing trips or Daddy's being the Boy Scout Leader until Lucas got Eagle or trips to the gun range, but I am certain he has lots of memories of his patient and very involved father, too.

Now his patience and sweetness is being showered on another generation. When I am ready to scream and call the gypsies to take my children away, he is still smiling and still trying to appease them.

One time we were at an ice cream place.

Jessa wanted a cone.

He got her a cone.

She then wanted a cup.

He went and got her a cup.

She changed her mind and wanted a cone.

He scooped it back into the cone.

He got more spoons.
He got more napkins.
He never stopped grinning.

He is Jessa's best customer at her diner:

He sits on the porch and blows bubbles with little Spencer:

He sat at the kids table at the mall for lunch:

He rode the train to St. Louis with me, my children, my friends, and my friends' children to deliver us to the Cardinals Game, only to turn around and ride the train right back home for work:

If David is out of town, he picks Jessa up from ballet and drives her to church for Awana every week. Seriously, we could not do it all without his help! He even painted a cool sign for me to use at Awana:

And last week, when we were short-handed at Awana, he stuck around after dropping Jessa off. And he was out puppeteer. Yep, my Daddy, a general in the army, crouched down on the floor and made cute little voices for the Cubbies Puppet Show.

I was all choked up because he does not even question. He just does what we want or need him to do. The man has booster seats in his van. And several ladies at the church were in awe of him, too. They all told me, "You are so blessed." And believe me, I know it. We are all blessed to have such a patient Daddy/Bay in the family!

See, I told you. He is the best.

Y'all never let me do anything fun.

I am deeply saddened to say that I forgot my camera. I felt pain when I was not capturing these moments - this is not an exaggeration, physical pain. This post will have to stand alone without pictures. Please do not be disappointed in me. I promise to do better.

We all get up and get dressed on a Saturday. Bay comes to pick up Jessa, Spencer, and me. We all drive to St. Louis to a mall where there is a Cabela's. All the men in our family are obsessed with Cabela's. The kids think it is way fun, too. Jessa was calling all the preserved animals and the fish in the aquariums "exhibits." She roamed the store at will. Spencer and I just followed her lead. She lingered at the fish tanks and named every fish. And with a birthday fast approaching I had enacted a moratorium on buying anything for them for the whole month. Yet, I still allowed them to pick out 1 surprise each. This caused many discussions with Jessa trying to negotiate for more and different treats. I stood my ground, and all was quiet.

We left Cabela's and went to the food court at the mall. Jessa led us all around looking at every choice. She was hoping for Chick-fil-A (OK, we all were), but there was not one. So she finally settled on Burger King. We have one 1/4 of a mile from our house. Heaven forbid we mix it up and try something new! We all sat at the table of Jessa's choice and ate lunch. Then we all proceeded to the indoor mall play area where Jessa and Spencer played for a good 20 minutes. Then Bay forked over $2.25 per ticket for the two of them to ride on a train for 3 minutes in a small circle.

On our way back to the car, Bay bought them fudge. Bay likes nuts in his fudge, but Jessa did not want nuts. So we left with nut-free fudge.

Once in the car, they chowed down on their fudge while Bay drove us to a park. We walked around to look at the Missouri River, and then spent another 20 minutes playing on the outdoor playground, at Jessa's insistence.

Then we went to an outdoor event, the Life is Good Festival. It was way fun with TONS to do. And it was mostly all free. Seriously, a kid's dream come true - a beautiful day with sunshine and kid-centered activities. There were like 5 different cool bean bag tosses, there were hula hoop areas, bouncy ball corrals, sack races, parachute play, ball tosses, soccer shoot-outs, obstacle courses, face painting, musical instruments, juggling, live music, tons of food - you name it. They were so crazy, trying to do it all. We let them try everything they wanted to try. We let them choose what they wanted to do. There was even a lollipop tree where you could just walk over to the tree and choose a lollipop! Spencer had 2. Jessa got her face painted, they both tossed bean bags and balls, they kicked soccer balls, they ran the length of the park and back. They got big beach balls. They got balloons. Bay bought them hot chocolate. They did some things more than once. We followed their lead.

It was a long and fun day. I enjoyed watching them play and have a great time. (I ached for the camera) But let's face it, most of the day was not about me - it was about them, right? I walked along, beside Jessa who was still sipping her hot chocolate, with my arms loaded down with her coat and her beach ball. And after this long and fun day, I said to Jessa, "We need to think about heading home soon." Jessa looked over at me and with a straight face said to me, "But Mah-uhm! Y'all never let me do anything fun!"

Sports can be confusing.

David Key loves sports. He takes it very seriously. I find it absolutely precious. He is not just a casual fan who talks the talk. No. He walks the walk. He loves his Florida Gators, of course. But to be honest, he just loves football. He is always happy to talk to a true fan of the game, regardless of their loyalties. He even watched the UGA game with Daddy last weekend and cheered appropriately, even though I am sure it was tough. He is a nice, non-trash talking kind of fan.

So we all watch a lot of sports and he longs for the day when the kids will really "get it" and can watch with him. Besides the Gators, we are fans of all things Atlanta - Braves, Falcons, Hawks. We have already taken them to many games - since they were in the womb! And it is important to David to share this love with his children.

Well, some of our dear friends came up to visit a week or so ago. They came so we could all go to see the Braves play when they were in St. Louis. (David ended up not being able to go, of course, he was working.) We dressed the kids in matching Braves shirts, hopped on the train and went to Busch Stadium to see the Braves (most people were not there to see the Braves, but we did not mind).


We had a great time. And the Braves even won (they swept the series!). The kids were remarkably well behaved. Seriously. I had my 2 and our friends had their 2, and we all were able to sit and enjoy most of the game.


During the next week, Bay called and had seats to a Rams game. Wow! Sounds great! We told the kids all week that we were going to a football game. And when we were changing our clothes really quick after church, he chose to wear his Braves shirt. I did not have time to argue, so we went with it.

David (who was in town!! Woo-hoo!), the kids, Bay, and I all hopped the train and headed to The Edward Jones Dome for the St. Louis Rams home opener.

Train ride - on the way.

It was way more crowded than the baseball weekend. And frankly, the people at the dome were not prepared. It was miserable. The crowd was huge and they were frisking EVERY person. Yikes! That takes forever.

A lot of people - oh, and I saw my first real like cheese heads in person!

So after waiting in line for 40 minutes, we were in. And hey, it was only 30 minutes after kick-off. We headed to our seats (these were FREE tickets that the Rams organization gave to the military as a thank you, isn't that nice??). Oh, and we first stopped to get food and drinks. So we hike up to our seats (not complaining, but free seats are usually pretty high up, you know?) with our arms full of food, etc. And we have to "excuse me" across tons of people to sit down. And I for one, sighed a great sigh of relief to be situated - finally. And then Spencer looks at me with this confused and sad look on his face. I said, "What is it, buddy?" And he said in a sad voice, through a pout, "This is not a baseball game." Bless his heart! It all was pretty much the same as two weeks before: a train ride, walking, waiting to get in, buying food, finding seats, and he was shocked to not be at the baseball game when he made it to his seat and looked at the field. I guess that explains his t-shirt choice. . . There are so many sports out there, it really is confusing when you are 3.

He had fun anyway, though.

He loved watching the field through Bay's homemade monocular. You may ask what is a homemade monocular? Well, when asked, Bay said, "The other side of the binoculars quit working, so I broke it off." That's my Daddy! He's a regular MacGyver!

A monocular, what a visionary - no pun intended.

Spencer felt like a pirate with a telescope!

Arrrgh!

The bad news of the day was that Jessa did not feel so well. Of course, we did not realize this until she fell asleep in her seat. The next day, the pediatrician said she had the flu (most likely H1N1), so um, sorry 66,000 fans in the dome and countless numbers of people on the train who we exposed to Jessa's germs. Our bad.

Poor baby!

Baseball, football, whatever, we like 'em all - well, except when you are sick.

Scott AFB Air Show

I started typing this post a few days ago. I got bogged down in stories and details. After a lot of thought, I have decided to use a more list-like format with a few stories.

Highlights for Me and Bay (David was out of town, shocking, I know):
1. The static displays
You could walk into several planes and chat with the pilots. We went into a c-21. This is the plane that David usually flies on. The kids call it "Daddy's plane."

Spencer asked if it was a "real plane." I said YES.

And then he was heartbroken when we got off.

He thought if it was a real plane, we should be able to go for a quick ride!
We also went into a C-5. What a huge plane!!

2. The Army Golden Knights.

The Army Golden Knights plane.
The Army's parachute team. They are awesome. They even jumped the flags in at the beginning of the day.

This is the American Flag being brought in.

They played the National Anthem as he glided to the ground. Chills.
3. All the flight performances were cool, but my favorites were:
(a.) The Heritage Flight - where 4 planes, both vintage and current all fly together. It represents the past and present of the Air Force. I am a sucker symbolism - especially if it is military or patriotic. . . Breathtaking.

The fly-by featured a P-51, an F-4, an F-16, and an F-15.
(b.) The Canadian Forces Snowbirds - they were so awesome! It is like Canada's version of the Thunderbirds or the Blue Angels. We even got to meet them at a reception before and talk to them after. I am sort of fascinated with Canadians. They seem so nice and say cute things in cute accents, ay. I like it when they say Saskatchewan. Oh and their performance was incredible, too. AMAZING.

WOW! Hard to get a picture, but trust me, WOW!

This is the plane flown by our favorite pilot. He was super nice and gave the kids stickers at the reception the night before.
4. Daddy got us into the VIP section with free food and even beer. But I did not care about that. The part that was the most exciting was the Porta Potties. Oh. My. Real toilets. Real sinks. Running water. WOW! Oh and it was AIR CONDITIONED.

Yes, that is potpourri on the tank.

Yes, art on the walls of a PORTA POTTY.

A real sink for handwashing!

5. Funnel Cakes.
Who doesn't like a plate with a big pile of fried dough covered in powdered sugar? Right? Are you with me? Seriously, Daddy and I drooled over them all day and finally bought one on the way out.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Highlights for Jessa and Spencer:

1. Strollers.
I dragged out the umbrella strollers to save our backs. I know the M.O. of my children very well- after walking about a block, they are all tired and begging us to carry them. They were happy to sit in their strollers and take it all in. And we were more than happy to push them.

Best seats in the house.
2. Acorns.

Yes, acorns. And I definitely do not mean the community organizers. I mean the small nutty objects that fall out of oak trees and that are loved by squirrels. We passed several trees on the way to the air show and they collected them and carried them and loved them all day long. Acorns. Who knew?

3. Bounce Houses

I have a love/hate relationship with these contraptions. The kids love them/ I hate them. But they are usually gross. I never used to think about all the germs all over them, but now it is all I can think about. There are always long lines. There are always mean kids with no parents. And once my children see these germ traps, they cannot think of anything else. They cannot talk about anything else. They do not want to do anything else. I sucked it up. They had fun. I soaked them in Lysol when we got home!

The most fun play things in the world, according to the kiddos.

4. Naps
Well, Jessa, anyway. She fell asleep during the heritage flight and woke up after the Snowbirds. For real. She slept through it all. Loud music. Loud announcers. LOUD Jet engines. I guess her ear plugs worked better than I thought.

Yep, that's my girl. Napping.

5. Geico Geckos.

There were booths set up all over for companies to advertise. If Daddy and I registered to win some Geico contest (hello junk mail and spam), they got to try and win a prize. Spencer won ear plugs. Jessa won a Gecko. Spencer cried. I offered them $20 for another Gecko. They gave him one for free. Whew. Thank goodness for the understanding Geico lady. . .

Posing with their new BFFs: the Geckos.

So there you have it. We all had a fun day, even though we did not all enjoy the same things equally, there was something for everyone, I guess.

One funny story:

Before we left home, I was trying to talk Jessa into wearing the red shirt. I had red shirts laid out for all 3 of us. There are many reasons for this idea. First, I like them to be somewhat coordinated and in a bright color when we are in crowds. It really does help me to be able to spot them easier. Second, this is an Air Show at an Air Force Base, patriotic dress is a must, right? What is more patriotic than a family all dressed in red? Nothing, right? And third (and yes, maybe the most important) is they will be way cuter in pictures if they have on matching shirts, right?? So I am trying to coax Jessa into hers (she has already dressed herself in a white Hello Kitty shirt - not very patriotic). She was really pulling out all the stops. She said it smelled bad. She said it was uncomfortable. She said she did not like the pocket. She said Hello Kitty was softer. I, of course, held firm to the "it is safer if y'all are both in red so I can keep up with you in the crowd." My 5 year old, future lawyer responded, "Well, Mom, how do you know all the other kids will not have on red, too. Then you may just grab the wrong children, Did you ever think of that?" I (without grinning at all) replied, "We will cross that bridge when we come to it. Get dressed in the shirt I gave you." And as you can tell from the pictures, I won the battle. Oh, and speaking pf pictures, aren't they precious in their matching shirts!??!?

Perfect matching shirts!
Oooops, someone forgot to brief Bay. . .