I texted Jerilee yesterday, just to chat and see what she was busy with that day, like every other day. The conversation began completely innocently, and ended with unexpected evening plans. Jerilee lovingly offered to come hang in our house and care for the sleeping littles so Brady and I could go on a date, and go watch the fireworks! While seeing the fireworks doesn’t make or break my year, it was SO FUN to get out of the house just Brady and I, and go be part of an event that only comes along once a year. We jumped at the offer, obviously.
First, we spent our evening with my parents. They had invited us over for a wiener roast, so we headed over in the late afternoon. The kids played in the yard and spread out the toys VERY well while the rest of us visited and got some food together for supper. It was a total success!
Just for reference, Solomon ate a whole hot dog (as in a wiener and a bun), a good sized bowl of strawberries, and a cookie. The only kid who out-ate him was Dekker. Laela and Rowan stopped at half a hot dog. Crazy kids. Solly also ate a large handful of dirt out of a flowerbed, so even more protein!
We got the kids home pretty close to their usual bedtime, and everyone was nice and tired, and went down fairly smoothly. Jerilee showed up right around 8:00pm and we left shortly thereafter. We stopped to 7eleven and bought bad snacks to bring along with us. I’ve got to say, to anyone who likes to buy the bottles iced teas, the Pure Leaf raspberry one is unbelievable. It genuinely tastes like fresh raspberries as opposed to frozen or candied or whatever else. It was amazing.
We got a pretty decent parking spot, considering the size of our vehicle, and hauled our blanket and snacks to the park. We chose a spot on the hill, snuggled up in our blanket, and read all of the pregnancy apps on Brady’s phone to pass the time. I took them all off of my phone after my miscarriage, but I don’t think Brady did. He was perhaps a tad more level headed than I was. Either way, we like to read them together anyway.
Finally, the fireworks began! They went for a solid half hour, complete with the kid beside us screaming “Canada rocks!” over and over, and the guy in front of us who yelled “Ho!” every time a new firework showed up or surprised him. Haha! You’ve got to have those people, right?
It was a great show! The finale pounded in my chest LOUDLY, and really closed it off with a bang!
We followed the crowd out of the park and slowly made our way to the van. Leaving is always the most chaotic part of the evening, but we intentionally parked somewhat far away so it wouldn’t be as bad leaving. And it wasn’t. All was well.
It was SUCH a lovely night away. We could hold hands, and take our time, and eat candy without having to share! We could sit quietly and just rest with each other, and didn’t have to entertain anyone else. It was freeing and special. While I really love to be with my kids, and I don’t feel like we’re suffering hard without ample amounts of dates, I am so thankful we got an evening away.
Thank you, Jerilee, ever so much for offering us a date 💗 It was SUCH an amazing gift!