Summer Lawn Concert

Today was another "beat the heat" kind of day. Our house gets really hot in the afternoon. It's fine in the morning, and usually is good after 6 o'clock or so, but it has trouble keeping up when the temperatures get too high mid afternoon. So I planned an afternoon of outings in "cool" places (haha). We started at Toys R Us to spend some leftover birthday money from Nana. Then over to the Disney store to use up the last few dollars left on a gift card, and then finished up with a trip to the movie theater to see Madagascar 3.

There's a nice grassy area right outside the theater with stone seating embedded into the hillside. We noticed blankets spread out all over the hill, but I had no idea of why. After the movie (which I thought was only so-so, kind of a let down since I liked the first two movies in the series so well, but my son thought was amazing) we saw a HUGE crowd on the hillside. We went over to check it out and found a nice 80's cover band singing and many families hanging out in lawn chairs listening to them. We plopped down on the grass and enjoyed the atmosphere for a while. I love events like this. Simple, low key, and just a chance to slow down and appreciate life.

There's a fountain in that same area that we like to stop at when we're near by. We always like to throw a penny in the fountain and make a wish. The kids immediately asked for pennies and then went up to the fountain to touch the water. While I was digging around in my bag a security guard came up and told the kids they had to step away from the fountain! I asked him what was going on, and he said that the water needed to be kept clear, and they could watch the fountain from a few feet away, but couldn't be up close at the ledge. (Meanwhile, adults were sitting on the very ledge my children were told needed to be kept clear.) It really disrupted the mood, and my son didn't want to put his penny in after that, or even stick around. I know the guy was probably just doing his job, but it was kind of weird. I hope he didn't jinx my wish.

(Notice the people sitting on the fountain ledge in the far left corner.)

Jam Session

I play a little guitar. Wait... let me rephrase that... I used to play a little guitar. Now I have a guitar that rests comfortably next to the lounge seat in the master bedroom. It came in really handy back in the day when I lived at camp and lead groups singing songs around the evening bonfire. Way back in the day.

This afternoon we were all pretty hot and I didn't feel like moving much. So I scooped up a bowl of ice cream for the kids (I got zero argument on this idea), get out the old guitar and start strumming.

Now, mind you, I only remember a handful of chords. And I use the same strumming pattern for everything. (My husband thinks that all my songs sound the same.) But the kids don't. Change it up just a little, add different words, and they're jumping around singing and dancing along! They were so into the music that I felt a twinge of regret that I don't play for them more often.

When my fingers were getting soar (which didn't take long, since there's no callus built up anymore) my son took over and started strumming. He was really liking it. The only downfall was that now a guitar is topping his Christmas wish list... it might become an expensive holiday!

If you don't play guitar, or any instrument, that doesn't mean you can't do this same activity. Hop onto You Tube with the kids and start plugging in song titles of all your favorite dance and sing along type songs. Turn the screen off while the song is playing so that you're not focused on the video, but rather the interaction with the people around you. It's a whole lot of fun too. Basically slow down, sing, and really appreciate these precious moments!