Yesterday at the Park

Last night was a successful outing to the park. Our church rented a pavilion at the biggest city park in town and set up sound equipment at one end, a hotdog grilling station just to the side, and huge coolers of drinks. Within sight of the pavilion (but out of earshot) was a playground, with no fences or containment beyond the landscaping border to keep the mulch in and grass out. I was so nervous about letting the girls go over there. They played for a while, got red-faced and sweaty, then came back with me to the pavilion while I sang my songs.

Immediately after I finished singing, both girls came to me crying that they wanted to go home. Apparently my little one put her hand in ants, and my big one was just tired of the little one's crying. (She really hates the sound of her sister crying, no matter when or where.) But I hadn't yet sung with the sextet, so we had to wait. I bribed them both to sit at a table with Cokes (in the absence of caffine-free soft drinks). I had the forsight to bring bendy straws with me in my purse so they would be able to drink from the cans without spilling all over themselves. (I think I'll start carrying bendy straws with me all the time. They don't weigh much.) That worked like a charm. Thankfully it didn't seem to have much impact on them being able to go to sleep last night.

Thanks to Shelly and others who helped wrangle my kids, especially while I was singing!

My brain hasn't really settled on a song yet... I'm currently listening to my iTunes in Party Shuffle mode, so we'll see where it lands after I get up and leave the computer for a few hours. Playing now, "I Can't Catch You," by Sixpence None the Richer.