welcome to summer

Monday was Nick's first day of summer.

I thought,

let's make it a super fun day where everyone is happy and we go to the farm and just have fun.

I should have realized what that would actually translate to.

Kent's mom calls it the "Jurassic Park Syndrome." Where you have this great idea with your kids and "ooh, ahh, this is SO fun and great!" and then before you know it it's screams and terror and people are getting eaten alive.

Nicholas and I had to get up early and get to the school for his end of year Kindergarten review testing. 

Which meant that when we got home, Nick was ready ready ready

and the other two kids were not.

So we spent the morning attempting to get the other kids ready to go while Nicholas questioned my abilities as a mother and very loudly wondered why we weren't leaving yet?!

The farm is part of a museum we used to visit lots when we lived in our last house. Now that we're down here, it's about a 35 minute drive on the freeway. 

Three minutes into the car ride Ellie started asking if we were getting close yet.

We made it to the farm 

and it really was really fun.

Christian wanted to live with the bunnies.

He circled that rabbit pen for a good forty minutes, squealing and stomping with excitement.
Nicholas asked me if he can get a pet rabbit "maybe when I'm 18, Mom?"
He knows me well.

There were baby goats, baby calfs, a baby pony, and of course the pony rides are always the highlight.

We really did have fun at the farm.
But by this point, it was past lunchtime, and Ellie hadn't eaten any of her breakfast (oatmeal was suddenly the worst) and things were about to implode on us, so we quick grabbed chicken nuggets from Wendy's.

The kids' meals came with frosties this time (has anyone else noticed that sometimes they give them and sometimes they don't?)
I'd told the kids before the farm that we could get cookies at the bakery nearby after the farm.
But now we had ice cream too.

Trying to be a good mom and not let them eat their own weight in sugar each day, I suggested that the kids decide if they want to eat their frostie or if they want to get a cookie.
Nicholas chose the cookie.
Little miss instant-gratification-Ellie chose her frostie.
So we ate in the car outside the bakery.

And then Nicholas needed to use the bathroom. RIGHT NOW.
But Ellie was NOT going to get out of the car with us. She insisted she was old enough to stay in the car all by herself. 

So much sadness/screams from the four-year-old, panic/potty dancing from the six-year-old, and screeching/wriggling from the one-year-old who was really thinking he'd like to run out in front of traffic at the moment instead of be stuck in mom's arms.

We made it inside, Nick used the restroom, and we waited in line and bought Nick his cookie. 
At which point Ellie decided that actually, she wanted a cookie instead of her frostie. I'd just paid, and now there were approximately 25 people in line.
No deal, Girly. 
Who thought that telling your child she has to eat her ice cream would make her wail in the middle of a restaurant? 

Whew. This story is longer than I realized. There's still more. Stay with me. It gets better/crazier.

After we finished our food and treats, we needed to go to H&M. (Boy do I miss living so close to the outlets! If we still lived up there I would have called it quits at this point and taken all the crazies home for some rest. But it's a 40 minute drive, so the shopping had to be done now.)

The kids were delightful as we walked and frolicked and skipped down to the end of the outlets and into H&M. 

H&M has an escalator.
I had a stroller. 
Nicholas wanted to go on the escalator. So I let him. By himself. He waited at the top for me while I took Ellie and Christian up the elevator. All was well.

We shopped. 

Then we finished. Nicholas wanted to go back down the escalator. 
So did Ellie. 
So I sent them. Nick got on, 
Ellie did not. She froze and stood at the top trembling and at her just-about-freak-out level. 
So I suggested she ride the elevator with me. She did not appreciate that suggestion.
Because I was tired and they were tired and we just needed to go home I decided to attempt taking the stroller down the escalator so I could help Ellie.

Christian and I got on the escalator. I reached my hand out for Ellie, 
and she didn't get on. 

So now I'm going down, with the stroller, away from Ellie. Nicholas is laughing at the bottom. Ellie is crying at the top, watching her mom leave her. 

I shouted back up at her to just "wait there! I'll be right back up for you!" took the elevator back up to the top (We had to open the elevator twice because Nick couldn't decide if he wanted to stay at the bottom and watch Ellie or if he wanted to come with me), and I finally retrieved Ellie and dragged her screaming back down the elevator so we could pay for our things and 
just. leave.

Then, when we got home, 
Christian managed to get into the toilets five times before bed.

Yay summer! 

(And in case you're wondering, I already find this whole story absolutely hilarious. My life is nuts in the best way possible.)