My husband and I decided to take the kids to Lake George for the 4th of July. We spent the first hour there mini golfing at the Pirates Cove. Luke and Jaid both made a "hole in one" and were super excited! Although after the first swing they both seemed to go into "hockey" mode and pushed their ball into the hole with the club rather than putting it. Then they would jump up and down, give us all a high five, and ask if there was a "next hole". ("Worth it" moment #1) Jerry even seemed to be enjoying himself and announced after the 5th hole that he would no longer be keeping score because he was kicking all of our butts. Which was completely true, I am terrible at Mini Golf and even the kids were beating me on most of the holes.
After golf we went for ice cream where both of the kids had to get theirs in a cone even though they don't eat the cone and always end up asking for a spoon. (Which of course was true in this case as well) At this point Jerry was starting to get antsy because the kids were getting restless and it drives him absolutely CRAZY not having them seated and well behaved. So lets just say that he is crazy all the time..lol! Then 2 ice cream stained,chocolate smeared cheeked children later, we were off to our next adventure. Which was the Haunted Wax Museum. Jaid was very excited for this and put on her brave front, even asking to be lifted up if there was an exhibit she couldn't get a good look at. While poor Luke whined and held on to Jerry for dear life through out the entire place. At one point Jerry even thought Luke had peed himself! Luckily he hadn't. But all Jaid talked about for the rest of the night was how she wanted to go back through, and could we do it again next time. ("Worth it" moment #2)
By this time is was getting later and we wanted to get a good spot for the fire works, so we made our way back to the beach. We had parked our car in one of those $10 for the day spots and Jerry walked back to get our chairs and blanket. Several cart wheels, hand stands, bug searches, and photo shoots later he finally returned. It probably only took him about 20 minutes but anyone who's had to entertain a 4 and 5 year old, with nothing other than a camera, knows that can feel like a lifetime. So now we are set! The only problem is, it's 8:30 and the fire works don't start until 9:30. I will fast forward what happens until then... whining, "I Spy", crying, catching bugs, Jerry is CRAZY, Jaid steps in dog poop, glow necklace ring toss, more whining, playing puppies, wrestling, screaming, Jerry is SUPER CRAZY, eating brownies, eww there's a bug on me!, "Simon Says", now the kids are fighting , mommy is mean, Jerry is going to BLOW!!!, oh look the fire works are starting. Phew! Now I have never seen my children sit so still for such an extended period of time, they did not move an inch for the entire show, except to clap their little hands with delight. ("Worth it" moment #3)
After it was all over we packed up our things and made the trek back to our car. Packing in the kids we start to notice that everyone is literally pulling from their spot and going for the exit. Of course in a parking lot with 1 exit and about 300 cars, this is not working and the gridlocked mess that is happening is just insane. So after sitting in one spot for about 30 minutes we decide to look for a different way out. We followed a car that has pulled down a section of fence. Yup, we were "those people", but so was everyone else once they saw what was going on and now traffic was gridlocked in 2 places but luckily we were out! So we think we caught a break. Oh we are so silly. Lets just say after an hour and a half of Jerry cursing, complaining, blaming me for wanting to come, swearing we would never do this again, and then some more cursing because he ran out of chew....we were finally on the high way headed home. Did I mention I had to pee since before we got in the car?
But as I put it to him, we have to make memories for the kids. The end of the day was really crappy but up until then it was really nice, the kids had a great time. Through all the standstill traffic, and "venting" as I'll call it, the kids were blissfully sleeping in the back seat, completely unaware anything was amiss. Which I am positive was the case when I was a kid, when we were all kids. Just because it's easier to stay home and do nothing doesn't mean that that is the way to go. So in the end I think the headache of it all was worth it. And when my kids are grown with families of their own, they too will know what goes on behind the scenes of all their treasured childhood memories.
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