Sunday, May 22, 2011

It Would Have Been A Good Last Day

Saturday morning as I lay in bed trying to will myself to get up I wracked my brain to think of a plan.  A plan to make the day great.  Fun!  You see, not only were the boys depressed that Todd went up north to the cabin to put the pier in (too many gnats for the kids and I to enjoy being outside) but apparently there are quite a few people that believed it would be the end of the world.  Puts a little bit of pressure on me to make it a great day for the kids, ya know?  Not that I believe any of that craziness, but I figured if on the off chance the world was ending then we may as well go out on a high note.

The weather wasn't much help.  Had it been a beautiful, sunny, warm spring day (what's that?) then I probably would have taken them to one of their favorite parks and let them play until they pass out.  Turns out is was very cloudy and cool with a chance of rain.  Hmm.  Does not leave me many options with four kids ages 1-8. 

I wanted to get them out of the house.  That much I knew.  It had to be something we haven't done in while but that would not be too challenging for me to juggle all four of them.  After thinking it over for a couple of hours I decided to take a chance on the weather and venture out to the free zoo a half an hour from our house.  We'd only been there once before but they kids loved it.  It is small enough I knew they wouldn't be exhausted walking around it.  It has a great little park that the boys could wear themselves out on.  And if it started to rain it wouldn't take long to get back to the car (like I said, small zoo). 

After breakfast I announced my plan to the boys and they were thrilled.  They dressed in warp speed and picked out the perfect stuffed animal to take on the trip with us.  I even packed a picnic lunch for us just in case the weather complied. 

By ten o'clock we were on the road.  By eleven o'clock we were watching the big black bear scratch his tush on a tree stump.  Good stuff.
I was extremely thankful that I dressed the kids much warmer than I dressed myself.  Although it was supposed to be around 65 degrees I don't think it got over 55 and the sun just couldn't break through the clouds.  I was cold.  But we were having fun so it didn't matter.
Gracie did a great job keeping up with her big brothers.
 And the boys did a great job watching out for her and protecting her.
 And helping her out too.
We took a slow lap around the zoo and then headed over to the park.  The kids played, we ate our picnic lunch, played some more, and then went on another lap around the park.  We were relaxed.  We took our time.  We enjoyed it all.
We stopped to smell the flowers.
Although Grace was a little annoyed to find out her dandelion did not smell like the pretty tulip she had wanted to pick.
I just enjoyed finally seeing some signs of spring.
Tulips and bleeding hearts.  Two of my favorites.  We may not have had sun, but at least we had flowers.
And these adorable little guys.  We stopped and watched these two little comedians until we began to feel the first raindrops fall.
That was our cue to head back to the car.  It was already way past nap time so I figured Grace could just catch a little siesta on the way back home.  The stinker ended up staying awake the whole time and I decided that since it was our last day on earth we could skip the naps.  Instead we stopped at the movie store and got a couple of movies the kids wanted to see.  When we got back home we built a blanket fort and popped some popcorn.
Everyone was on their best behavior, trying to make this day as special as possible.  Even Molly was a good dog and sat by patiently as the kids ate their popcorn on the floor.  She didn't even beg.  Amazing. 
After the kids ate their dinner (very well behaved AGAIN) they all snuggled up with their favorite blankies and stuffed animals for another movie.  Sometimes a rainy day can be really awesome. 
I put Grace to bed super early and let the boys finish their movie.  They were pretty tired and as soon as the movie was over they were off to bed without incident.  After all was quiet I had some Pad Thai delivered from my favorite Thai restaurant, made myself a little drink, and watched some pointless tv.  Overall, I'd say the day was close to perfect.  Though I will say that when 6:00 rolled around (the allotted time of world termination) I was relieved it wasn't the last day on earth.  I would really prefer to have Todd with me for that.  But other than that, it would have been a good last day.


So, tell me readers, what did your "last day" look like?

16 comments:

Tabor said...

One of those days you will treasure forever....

Tonya said...

our day was normal since I figured that nothing could beat meeting Jesus if in fact the rapture did happened. The guy who claims to know the day and time is crazy as that is SO unbiblical, just sayin! Glad you had a good day though :)

Jessa said...

We spent too much money. Kids watched a movie/played some video games. Took the dogs for a walk. It wasn't half bad.

When we lived up there that was where I took the kids to hang out all the time. We lived across the street in the ugly white duplex; where the stones are. ;)

RiverPoet said...

Lovely post!

I think we should all live each day like it's our last, because indeed it might be. But that is far easier said than done, isn't it? Glad you had a good day with the kiddos.

Peace - D

Cyndy Bush said...

That sounds like a wonderful day, although I am glad it wasn't our last! I blogged about our day; it was spent at the soccer field.

Kat said...

RiverPoet- I was actually gonna write something about how it really does make me want to be more aware of making the most of each day. Any day could be our last so we really should always be our best. :)

Allison said...

We cleaned the playroom and did a clean out of old and broken toys, I made a chocolate cake for dinner at friends' house and we hung out with them for the afternoon and late into the evening!

Sounds like it was a great day for you all around! Glad you got to keep your "sanity" with such well-behaved kids!

lime said...

that's a nice last day if i do say so myself!

my last day involved a lot of laundry and cleaning but then i made a nice diner and we all sat down to enjoy it and play a game afterward. since it was one of only two weekends my college girl will be home it was a nice opportunity.

Unknown said...

LOVE all the pics - such great kids you have Kat. I'm so glad you all had such a lovely almost "last" day. ;P

Grace's smile in the pic of them all under the fort is just too precious!!

Kelli @ writing the waves said...

"go out on high note" - indeed you would have! haha ;) What a great day! Yay for the zoo and for flowers! Gorgeous tulip shots!

Our almost last day was filled with last soccer games and trophy parties, then a trip to Red Robin for dinner. It was a good day, but I sure am glad it wasn't the last. (I tell ya, where do people come up with this stuff?)

Hilary said...

Beautiful. I'm sure you'd remember this day always but isn't it kind of nice to have the photos and blog to document it this way? Gotta love technology for that.. good thing it's not over yet. ;)

Mom24 said...

Wow, that was a pretty perfect day? Don't you wish there was a way to make that feeling last of wanting things to be their best and everyone working toward that? Glad you had such a good day.

Anonymous said...

A perfect last day! Isn't it encouraging when you have days like those with your kids?

Riahli said...

I wanted to have the perfect day, I really did, but it ended up being one of those days were one thing after another happened just like any other day... so I guess it's a good thing that it turned out to not be the end of the word at 6 pm... ha ha. Sound like you had a wonderful family day with your kiddos, perfect in my book. :) I would have to say I would prefer my hubby to be home as well if it really were the end of the world, mine wasn't home either so it's a good thing we are still spinning around on this plant called earth.

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

While the nonsense that was that whole thing was quite silly, it did help with the message to live each day to the fullest!

You guys sure did! And, I just love that Grace hung out so well with the boys. Nat won't even sit on the floor that long to watch a movie. Ahh the older sibling influence.

What a great day.

Cassie said...

That last pic is SO sweet!! It looks like y'all would have had the best last day. Ours was spent driving ALL DAY. Boring. But I'm glad it wasn't the last day :)

Words To Live By

Be grateful for each new day.
A new day that you have never lived before.
Twenty-four new, fresh, unexplored hours to use usefully and profitably.
We can squander, neglect, or use them.
Life will be richer or poorer by the way we use today.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be
encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson