family outing...

Saturday dawned fairly early for us (well, for Ben and Warren, that is...mama got to sleep in!), and over breakfast I noticed that our favorite red Sesame Street character was making an appearance at the mall. Ben and Warren were already out on the town, making runs to WalMart and Lowe's, so I called them and asked it they were interested in a gourmet Food Court lunch with a visit with Elmo thrown in for free! ...and the Eakes family outing was officially set.

I went for a quick walk, took a quicker shower and got ready even more speedily, and off we went, trying to beat the long lines we knew would be forming. The parking lot was pretty full at 11:30, but we were in good shape line wise. Oh the excitement...and oh, the distractions.

I, of course, was daydreaming of a beautifully happy outing...laughter, grins...certainly no tears! But as we went to check out the line length (in order to decide whether to eat first!), Warren spotted the "horsies", aka, the Carousel. there was no turning back.

he didn't want food, he wanted the horsies. so he and daddy rode the horsies (since mama gets dreadfully motion sick on the carousel...i'm talking vomit-level nausea. no horsies for me!). i got some cute pictures - the FIRST time around!

i went off to fetch our sustenance while the menfolk finished their romp. with milk, chicken nuggets and fruit cup in hand, i waited for warren's arrival. ben wanted Steak Escape, so he went to pick up his own, leaving dubs and I at the table. and here began the tears..."Daddy! I want Daddy!" "Horsies! I want Horsies!" oh, the trauma. the Brashiers happened upon Warren and I in the midst of this tantrum, and lent a sympathetic ear (they too, had seen the Elmo ad and thought a family outing was a good idea...their 3 were much more appreciative of their parents' thoughtfulness, however!). Ben came back about that time, and quickly wolfed down his food...thank goodness, for then Warren could get back on the carousel. ah...the tears abated.

After the third ride around, we went to see Elmo. once Warren realized we weren't going to watch an episode of Elmo, but were going to MEET him in the flesh (and we promised he could get back on the horsies) it was all okay. the picture doesn't do it justice, but you should have seen the grin on this kid's face when he got to rub that red fur. Warren tried to give him "5" several times, and in general thought it was cool thing. (thank heavens for hand sanitizer).
and then it was a race to play in the "park". having been here before, Warren dove right in.

Race you to the top!...
Balance, Daniel-san...must find balance!
and the old favorite...he could spend hours at this thing.Unfortunately, Warren's bladder couldn't quite stand all the excitement, so we had to scootch on home. more tears, oh yes. but once in the car he happily ate the food he couldn't focus on earlier, and fell promptly to sleep after a brief reading of "Where the Wild Things Are".

ah, the joys of the family outings...!