On Saturday we had a busy day planned. First we would meet grandma and grandpa at Avery's school concert. Avery would join her classmates on stage to sing a few songs.
Except Avery was having no part of it. When they came to take her away she cried so much they brought her back. So we watched her class sing and left. She was a little under the weather, and this was only her second week of school.
After that, after dragging her kicking and screaming from the playground, we headed out to the local construction company's field day. They would have trucks, a pony ride, and a "duck pond." It was out in the country.
The first sign of trouble was that we were parked in a corn field on a hill. Corn field, complete with stubble. The second was sprinkles as we left the car. The radar had indicated a lack of rain.
By the time we got to the bottom of the cornfield hill and into the event, it was sprinkling harder, and by the time the pig chase was over, it was pouring. Turns out the "duck pond" was a ditch with a large tarp in it, full of muddy water and rubber ducks. So we trudged back up the hill, with Avery on my shoulders. Megan was pushing a stroller. I put Avery in the car and tried to back out of our spot.
And we got stuck. I fussed for a while and got the car clear and facing down the hill and planned on using our momentum to gain traction up the hill, which failed. Instead we got around and then stuck again, slanted in two directions. By then Avery was in a panic and Jack was crying. We called grandpa to rescue Megan and the kids and I set about trying to get unstuck.
Some fellows tried to push and it didn't work, and after a half hour a tractor came to help. The whole time Megan and the kids were standing by the road waiting to get out of there.
Turns out the tractor had one kind of chain, the kind that was too big for the tow hook under the car. The guy suggested I back up and drive down the hill, which had cleared out a bit as people left. Enough cars had left to make it possible (it wouldn't have been when I first tried to get out) and it worked. I made it out and back to the street, and stopped traffic on the two land dirt road while I picked up the rest of the family. We passed grandpa on the way out.
We won't be attending next year. It is really nice of the company to hold the event, but we just aren't cornfield parking type of folk.
Avery was hot to trot to sleep over at grandpa and grandma's house on Saturday night, so we dropped her off a bit before dinner. We were summarily dismissed with nary a care, so we went to find bottles that Jack would take- because that is another thing we found out on Saturday, that Jack wants no part of a bottle.
After, we went to Applebees, where Jack woke up just before the food came, an it started to pour as Megan went to the car to feed him. So our crappy food was cold.
Buuuut, eventually Jack fell asleep (two hours later than normal, thank you) and grandpa came over to watch him while mommy and daddy went out for a beer. We got to reconnect and talk about how much we love having a family, even if the day is almost a total fiasco.
Early goings, testing the waters. Not relative dryness.
A good splash, hair and all.
Getting wetter.
Midflight; note wetness of shorts. A good five minutes in.
A pan shot of Avery running through a puddle. Up and down the alley, hitting all the closely spaced puddles. It captures the frenetic action of a last minute romp before we head home. When we got home, we had to dump out her boots. They were ankle deep in muddy water.
Avery started school last week, and before her first day she wanted a picture with her doggy Rosie. She is doing well, although the first few days were a little rough. She is now excited about going to school "by herself."
We got the playground together today, after spreading it out over three days (thanks to grandpa and great grandpa!) and Avery gave it a spin. She even helped out where she could.
Avery rocking her brother while we were getting ready to go to grandpa and grandma's.
Grandpa and Jack.
