It's been a pretty fun weekend so far. Last night when I got home from work, Luke and I were itching to get outside and do something, and then we remembered that there was a free concert downtown, so off we went. When we got there, half of Patrick's class was hanging around, plus a few neighbors and church friends, so we ended up chit-chatting a lot of the night while the kids drew all over the sidewalk with chalk, and we missed most of the show. But hey, I'd rather be socializing anyway, so it was all good.
A couple hours after he went to work this morning, Luke called me and said that he really thought the boys should come visit, because they were having an "Emergency Expo" of sorts at the outlet mall across the street from the fire station. So having nothing better to do, we got in the car and hauled our cookies into the next county to ogle the assortment of rescue vehicles. The boys did love it, though. They were especially stoked about the helicopters from Emory and Erlanger that flew in. Two of them landed while we were there...and I don't care who you are, that's always a cool experience.
The special ops unit was there with their tricked-out truck and Patrick was very into that. The guy showed him all his super high-tech stuff and answered all of his questions just like your friendly neighborhood swat team member should...except that he told Patrick that his guns were for shooting dogs. At that point I read Patrick's thoughts as only a mom can do, and saw that he was getting sick with fear over the fate of poor Weewee and Savannah, and I assured him that the guns were for shooting people, not dogs...and for some reason that was a major relief to him.
Our school secretary Angie was doing a little shopping at the outlets and she saw us and came over. Angie is the coolest chick in school, as you can see by this picture. Patrick thinks she is all that because she gets to talk over the intercom and that is almost as cool as Daddy's firefighter radio. Sometimes he comes home after school and calls out names for the carpool line, just like Angie does. We *heart* Angie. Oh, and her birthday is tomorrow. Happy birthday Angie!
Ben was completely smitten with the helicopters, or "planes" as he called them. He liked the fire trucks too of course, but we've gotten up close and personal with them a few times now, so the choppers were something new and exciting. I love that front pic...I was trying to get a shot of them in front of the truck, but Ben would have nothing to do with it--he was completely focused on the helicopter landing behind the truck. So be it. They had a good time.Tomorrow we're headed out to Ma and Pa's house to swim one last time and then help them close up the pool for the year. Boo. Sad times. As much as I enjoy fall and the holidays, it's always with a sense of gloom for the dark, freezing months that are just around the corner. And as miserably hot as it's been for the past month, I am always sad to see summer go. I just love the swimming and the sunshine and the picnics and the beach trips too much. Oh well. Time waits for no man, right? Hope everyone had a good weekend. See ya!
