The Best Laid Plans

Well, as the saying goes...

We had some great plans today. Swimming lessons were cancelled because of the forecast... rain & highs in the 70s... brrrrrrrrrr! So, we had two choices 1. stay at home (sounded good to me!) or 2. do something fun (sounded like a good idea). Some moms from MOPS were planning on meeting at a theater in Charlotte for a FREE movie & lunch afterwards at Chik-fil-a. AND it wasn't just any free movie... it was the NEW Pirates Veggie Tales movie. Okay, so I'm thinking the kids would really enjoy this & soon school will be starting & blah, blah, blah...

When I woke up this morning and heard the constant rain, I rethought about the idea of staying in my jammies all day around the house. (Okay, I would have gotten dressed... but only because the handyman was coming to finish replacing the floor that was ruined years ago from a continually leaking toilet... but that's another story). Then I decided to be brave & bold & take the 4 kids ALL THE WAY to CHARLOTTE for the free movie.

So we rush & get ready. Why does this seem so time consuming? Tick tock tick tock... UGH, I wanted to leave at 9 a.m. so that maybe we'd arrive at 9:45 ish for the 10 a.m. movie! Well, we're sitting down to eat at about 8:50 a.m. Where did the time go? Let me assure you, the problem is NOT that we are sleeping in!! Anyway, we finally get ready to get in the car. I'd been watching the rain out the kitchen window as we were eating. It was letting up. Nice. We can get to the van without being soaked! Then just as I told Olivia she wouldn't need her umbrella to get to the van, we opened the door to see sheets of rain before our eyes! Boo hoo. So instead of dashing quickly to the van in drizzles, we were walking under umbrellas... Derek under mine, and Emma & Olivia walking like snails under hers! They finally get to the van, I shut them up inside (Olivia can buckle Emma & Olivia & Derek can buckle themselves!) while I go to retrieve Wesley to bring him.

Well, as I'm slipping & sliding in my flip flops, I decide the responsible adult thing would be to put on tennis shoes. Now I'm looking goofy with big athletic tennis shoes & my capris that are almost to my ankles. Now I just look like I'm wearing high waters (on a good day, I guess). Anyway... I grab Wesley, throw him in (while getting drenched even with a jacket) and buckle him up. Thankfully, I had made the WISE decision to NOT fix my hair. After my shower, I just pulled it back WET in a clip.

Now I look at the van clock. I can't remember exactly what it said, but I remember thinking that getting there by 10 a.m. seemed close to impossible. The kids did not know where we were going. They just knew it would be a surprise. I think that is fun. I seldom tell them where we are going. Aren't surprises fun? So, I'm thinking at this moment... maybe we should go back inside. Maybe we should do something else. No... we'll go! So off we went! Besides, don't they always show commercials for at least 15 minutes at the beginning? I'm planning on sitting in the first row of seats in the stadium seating section anyway because Wesley will be in his stroller. No one else will be there because they are really bad seats... too close.

Well, you can't drive fast (or even the normal speed limit) on back country roads (half of our drive) in the downpour unless you want to hydroplane! So, I was driving very responsibly as the kids tried to guess where we were going. I told them they could ask yes & no questions. They really did great. About half way there they had figured out we were going to the theater. Later they even guessed which movie. I guess I should really give credit to Olivia. Derek was asking some great Qs and even Emma would ask some, but in the end Olivia guessed all the right answers!

So now they know what the plans are... the best laid plans!!! Well, we finally arrive. When we arrive at the theater, to my surprise it is just about 5 minutes after 10 a.m. BUT when I see the parking lot, I am SHOCKED! Why am I so shocked? I guess I live in a little naive world sometimes! Well, apparently a LOT of people in the greater Charlotte area (including daycares) thought this would be a great idea today & the rain must have confirmed it. THANKFULLY, as we got out it was not raining (thank you, Lord). When we were walking up to the theater, a mom with 3 kids was returning. She told us it was full. Boo hoo. I went in to see if anyone we knew was waiting for us. I didn't see anyone. I was glad. I didn't want them to miss out on seats. The lady said the TWO theaters for the Veggie Tale movie were full. Boo hoo. They are showing it again tomorrow... and they open at 9:15!! I don't think we're going. After all, if the weather permits... we have swimming lessons!!

So, what did we do? Thankfully, this theater is in civilization, & we had lots of options. One of our favorite places that we never get to go is Target, and it is in the same shopping area! So, I tell the kids we'll go look around in there. Also, Olivia has some birthday money, & she's been wanting to buy some swimming goggles. So off we went with a task at hand.

We had a fun time in Target & found some goggles. Then we decide to head south & go to the chiropractor. Our swimming lessons have been cutting in on our chiropractor appointments, so it was very good to go there! Then we decided to head to JAARS to eat lunch with Dano and afterwards go to the giftshop to finish spending Olivia's birthday money. She's reading these missionary biographies that she can get there. She was able to buy 3 more with the rest of her money. She has six now. What a blessing that our 7 year old wants to spend her money buying missionary biographies!

So, the best laid plans... actually didn't turn out too bad. We didn't do anything we planned, but we actually had a great day! The kids didn't even seem horribly disappointed.

The worst part about the day... I'm STILL wet! =0)