Friday afternoon I was catching up on facebook & saw the meteorologist was saying people are calling in saying they see a UFO in Mishawaka. I clicked on the comments & down the line someone said it is probably something for the Chicago Air & Water show. I thot wow that sounds fun. So I googled it & discovered it is free. Gary said we should plan it as a suprise for the children.

We got most of them to bed by 7:45 & told them we would wake them up early for a family outting. Everyone was so excited. I ran to town to get a few things to pack a picnic lunch. Of course I had to run thru McDonalds for my "large Dr. Pepper- no ice." See I have actually gotten lazy in my adiction these days. Lazy as in I don't have to get out of my car at the gas station anymore. I've discovered McDonalds pop is even better than the gas staions! And I never leave the car! So anyway... that Dr. Pepper kept me awake until midnight!

The alarm went off at 4 a.m. As soon as we were packed up we headed to Chicago! They advertise it as a free event but to get a decent parking spot you had to pay $40!!! The show was by a beach. We got there 2 hours before starting & got good seats. The children had a blast playing in the sand waiting for the show to start. The sky was a bit overcast. I told Gary if it would stay like that all day it would actually be perfect!

The show started promptly at 10 & after about 15 min. it started to sprinkle. Thank goodness I had borrowed some umberellas from mom. We huddled under 3 umbrellas & the show was delayed for 25 min. to watch the weather. We got out food & books & tried to make the best of it. Then they came on the loud speaker & said they are asking everyone to leave the beach NOW. A bad storm with high winds & lots of lightening headed our way. Mad scramble to pack everything up. We use the buddy system when in a place like that. Gary, Shania & I all in charge of one child. We got all the lawn chairs (6) & cooler & tote & 3 umberellas & got in the midst of the crowd. I thot for sure we were gonna lose each other! Then it got REALLY windy & they told us to put down the umbrellas. We did & it got NASTY out there. It rained so hard & fast... water was seriously getting in my contacts & I couldn't see. You had to cross this walkway across 4 lanes of traffic. Suprisingly Cameron was able to keep up but he was so scared! We were a long way off from our truck. Finally took my flipflops (that had heels!) off & went barefoot. People everywhere! And everyone was SOAKED!

   We finally found the truck, threw our stuff in the back & got in. The parking lot was so full of water that when you stepped off the sidewalk it went above my ankles. Natashas flipflop fell off & was floating! LOL. Talk about miserable! Not a dry spot on any of us! Some of us were laughing and some of us were NOT. What would be your guess for what my reaction was?? Laughing of course! We looked absolutely pathetic & Gary promptly backs out of our $40 parking space & says we are heading home! My idea was everyone else is wet too & if they continue the show in an hour we will not be the only drowned rats there! So we parked again. Gary took a nap. The rest of us read books & I tuned in to the radio station that was broadcasting the show.

   We sat there for at least 3 hours. Mom kept texting wich kept me entertained! She thot it was hysterical! =) Finally they announced the show would go on but would be greatly reduced. We hauled all lawn chairs & umbrellas back over there. Ended up being a fun show but only about an hour and a half long instead of the planned 5 hours.

   There seriously was a washout not far from there in town & a mans SUV went down in there. He was able to get himself out but was taken to the hospital. The one announcer said it rained 1-2” in 30 min.

   We had planned to eat out for supper. We had dried off somewhat in the sun but looked kinda pathetic! My shirt got dirty from hauling those dirty sandy lawn chairs. Gary was carrying one in a redish colored bag & it stained his shirt yellowish-orange. But we all love Chinese & decided to stop at a buffet. I laughed the whole way in there thinking how awful we all looked… I’m howling as I am reading this. Too bad I had no camera on this outting!!!

   While eating Shania & Gary BOTH spilled red sweet & sour sauce on their shirts. By this time I was VERY tired & everything was hysterical to me. Gary had on a tan shirt. I sang to him Red (sweet & sour stain) brown (his shirt)yellow (lawn chair stain) black & white they are precious in his sight… Jesus loves the little children of the world! Then we got the bill…. $51!!!! We never have to pay that much at a buffet for children. I laughed even harder. =) Finally arrived home at 8:45 p.m. Fell exhausted into our beds & this afternoon watched the airshow live on the internet! I think we definitely made memories!

   We spent the afternoon sleeping & tonight around the campfire. Then took a trip down memory lane & played Andy-over over the little shanty. Kids loved it.

   Hope you all have a great week!

Cappuccinomom