This flag waving in my front yard was pretty much the only thing that let me know today was a holiday. I love how Jill's post for today was entitled "Laborious Labor Day". That's kind of how it felt for me too. These Monday holidays are usually kind of a downer for me -- Marc almost always goes in to work (never mind that the rest of the world is at home doing fun things!), so then I guess I feel all is lost and I don't plan anything special for me and the kids to do. Then I feel kind of sorry for myself that we're not doing fun family things like everyone else. Of all the self-defeating things! Dumb, I know.
But as I loaded my photos from today onto the computer, I realized it wasn't all bad. The kids and I took a walk to the school this morning because Lucas wants to ride his scooter to school and I wasn't even sure he knew the way. (I'm still not sure he knows the way, and the jury's still out on whether he can ride his scooter. It's kind of far and I usually drop them off.)
Once we got there we played at the adjacent park for awhile. It's been quite a long time since I took Eva to the park and she wanted to stay in the baby swing forever! I kept asking her if she wanted to get down, and she kept shaking her head no. (ew! after looking at this photo, I want to go back to the park with some Clorox wipes!!)
Max had homework due tomorrow, including memorizing a long list of prepositions in alphabetical order. He didn't want to miss out on the fun, so he brought his flashcards to the park. You can see he has them in his hand, even as he is playing on the swings with Lucas! To his credit, he did actually memorize them during the walk there and back.
When we got back, we all had lunch and Max finished up his homework. Lucas called several friends, but no one could play (well, duh! everyone's having fun on Labor Day with their families!). The boys played together, Eva took a nap, and I read for awhile. Then Max's best friend called -- oh joy! -- and the boys went over to his house to play.
Marc unexpectedly came home from work at 2:00 and asked what I wanted to do. Hmmmmmm.... well, I hadn't a clue! Max and Lucas had just gone to play with friends, and we hadn't planned anything at all. We ended up just lying on our bed and talking, planning out how we want to redecorate our bedroom, looking at paint colors, etc. Eva woke up, we went to get some groceries, then we came home and packed a little picnic supper. When the boys came home, we all headed up to Bridal Veil Falls, our little lame nod to the holiday.
Apparently half of Orem had the same idea! The parking lot was packed, and I have never seen so many people there. It had never occurred to me that it would be so crowded. The sky had gotten overcast, and the water there is never warm, so tonight it was truly frigid! That didn't stop the kids from wading, though. Eva went in up to her waist, then fell forward and got thoroughly soaked. We brought Jack along, too, and he was in dog heaven sniffing all of the unfamiliar trail smells and frolicking in the water. Unfortunately, I only got a shot of the falls and Eva before my camera batteries died. (And I was just marveling at how very long they were lasting, too. Why didn't I charge up the spares?)
When the kids were all too cold to go on, we wrapped them up in towels and looked for a spot to eat. It was then that Lucas started crying and saying his stomach hurt and he had to eat RIGHT NOW! We were all wondering why he was suddenly so ravenous and why he couldn't wait for 3 minutes while we picked out a picnic location. As soon as we all sat down, his cries escalated and he insisted that he had to go home. OK. So we packed all our stuff back up and headed back to the car. He moaned and Eva cried all the way home. In the 10 minutes it took us to get home, I had a pounding headache. Marc and I just looked at each other. Oh well, we tried, right? (It called to mind last Christmastime when we went to see the holiday lights at Thanksgiving Point and Lucas threw up all over me. At least it wasn't that bad!) I was so relieved when everyone was finally in bed. Happy Labor Day! emphasis on Labor.
11 comments:
OK, I so need to blog about how I feel pressure to make holidays fun and never feel like I succeed. I think your day (illness and all!!!) is the perfect example that you don't have to plan something fabulous for your kids to have a great day. All you did was go to the park and Bridal Veil Falls, but it sounds like your kids had a really great day. And isn't that most of the point anyway?
I love all your pictures from today, especially the shot of the flag (it's cool that you can see through it), also it's funny to see Eva in pants and shoes, she always seems to be wearing dresses.
Your day actually sounds fun, and kudos to you and Marc for packing a dinner picnic and going to Bridal Veil Falls. What's up with Lucas' sudden sickness? That's bizarre, but not so much for Lucas I guess.
Your day was better than mine for sure.
We didn't do anything fun either. But we sure got a lot done around our house. Sorry that your day ended so bad, I'm just glad he didn't throw up on you. Maybe you can have a redo of your picnic another night?
hey, the most we got done was a quick trip to DQ to bring back blizzards and sundays to everyone.
You did way more for your holiday than we did. I think your day sounded like a lot of fun. sorry Lucas got sick, hope he is feeling better.
I loved hearing about your day. A spontaneous picnic...impressive.
The new you seems to be seeping into every aspect of your life. Your posts seem to have a whole new attitude this past week. I love it and can't believe how active you have been. I love that you made a choice and are actually doing something about it!
I love pictures and the blog for helping me to see the positive in a day. I am surprised how many positive things I can think of to write when I look at it that way.
I love that you posted all the little tid bits of photos throughout your day. I do that a lot. I am really impressed you have the patients to with dial up as well!!
The only thing exciting we did was went to the water park one last time. After that it reminded me that I am truely sick of Six Flags for a while and glad the waterpark will be closed until next May.
That stinks about Lucas getting sick. Hopefully it was a fluke.
You at least have some memories of the holiday to remember. It sounds like the kids had fun. But, isn't bed time the best?!!!?
Had to laugh (sorry) at your post. Labor for sure. Sometimes holidays are great, and sometimes they can be such downers. I think its the expectation thing. Kudos for trying--really!
I think husband's working on holidays is probably in my five most depressing things list. Glad he came home a little early! And I am amazed at Max's focus and desire. Notes at the playground--impressive!
It sounds like you guys had fun dispite the lack of love for the holiday. The photos, once again, are great.
bridal vale falls, ahhhh! that is the first place jeff kissed me! maybe kind of cheesy now, but oh so cool back then, what am i saying it is still cool.
eva's hair is getting long! so cute her standing in the water.
sally jane is starting to walk... finally!!!!
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