Family date night to the Signal Mountain Playhouse. It’s a
local outdoor theater that puts on a great production every summer.
We’ve missed the last few, but managed to go see Bye Bye Birdie tonight.
It was a little more mature than what we would normally take the boys
to, but the cast did a great job. Isaac fell asleep in my lap right
after intermission. Shout out to Daniel for sitting through a musical,
I’m pretty
sure this is his least favorite activity, but he was a
trooper.
Daniel's work schedule has been much improved (especially in regards to family life) since he left Nuclear and started working in Dam Safety
last fall, but there are still periods that get a little crazy.
Especially if he has any additional training he has to squeeze in.
We are in one of those periods right now. But thankfully he was able to take advantage of his more flexible schedule and take a day off in the middle of the week. So yesterday we embraced the mid-week sunshine and having Daniel home in order to have a family fun day.
First off we asked Jack if he wanted daddy to drop him off. Jack said, "No. I want daddy to drop me off AND pick me up." Silly boy.
After preschool drop off, Daniel came back to pick me and Isaac up and then we headed downtown to grab breakfast at one of our favorite spots, The Bluegrass Grill. They did not disappoint. Plus they brought a whole bucket of toys to keep Isaac occupied.
Once we finished breakfast, we walked back to our car, which happened to be parked next to the Electric Bike Specialists shop. Isaac adores bikes so we couldn't resist popping in to admire the machines. The guys working in the shop immediately offered to let us take a test ride. Then proceeded to get out a cargo bike with baby carrier AND a bike helmet for Isaac. It took a few tries to get the right size for him (our kids have huge heads), but a helmet was found and Daniel and Isaac took a spin around the block. When they returned, I took a turn as well. It was pretty cool. We found out that these expensive bikes can also be rented for $15/hour or $60/day and there is no limit to how far you ride them. We also learned about some trails we had been curious to try mountain biking with the kids and it was exciting to know we might be able to do some of those trips sooner rather than later. I have a feeling we will be back to rent bikes sometime – in a hilly place like Chattanooga, an electric bike could definitely be an asset!
After the bike shop, we headed home to load up our kayaks and then pick up Jack from preschool. The weather was gorgeous. It has rained a lot here lately, so we felt like we needed to take the boys out to a flat water lake to test the newest kayak.
It was a good decision. The water was calm and there was no boat traffic since it was the middle of the week. Daniel started out giving Jack a mini pep talk about how to paddle and then Jack just took off. It was a lot like how he learned how to ride his bike... he just kind of did it.
He had no probably making turns and paddling around. He even jumped in a couple of times and was able to pull himself back up.
He was also able to paddle in the shallow water with Isaac riding on the back. I think they both enjoyed this set up.
We piddled around, with Daniel, Isaac and I in the big kayak and Jack paddling solo. Then Jack and I got out of the water and Daniel and Isaac paddled for a bit. Isaac almost fell asleep in his daddy's lap (it was nap time after all).
I tried sitting in Jack's kayak, but the weight limit is 130. I'm a bit more than that 😂 The boat floated, but barely. Let's just say I got plenty wet!
Isaac hung out with me on the shore for a bit while Jack built a sandcastle and snorkeled. I was hoping he would nap, but he was content to snack.
Daniel paddled across the lake to check out an abandoned boat before coming back and trading spots with me. Isaac did nap for him, but only for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile Jack and I paddled around the edge of the lake, about
halfway to the abandoned boat.
*The orange circle is Jack and I paddling to the point.
Jack thinks he must be the best
5-year-old paddler ever. I told him *may be* one of the best 5-year-olds we
know. He isn't lacking confidence, that's for sure! We also discussed future overnight paddling trips, which I am very excited about.
Isaac also wanted a turn to sit and paddle. He was content to hold the paddle and let me tow him around the shallows. I'm pretty sure he will be up for trying anything Jack does, and we have a feeling it won't be too long before we need to buy another kid's kayak.
It is always exciting when our kids seem to enjoy the hobbies we love. We feel like we are on the brink of doing some really fun stuff. Right now we are still in the teaching stages so it sometimes feels like a lot of piddling, but it won't be long until we can go farther and do even more. And that is very exciting!
I'm so thankful that Daniel was able to take yesterday off. Today it is cold and rainy and I am flying solo. Hopefully the kids will remember these days and not the days when we are busy with the busyness of everyday life.
While Chattanooga is not Nashville, we have been impressed by the city's free family-friendly music offerings.
During the summer, Nightfall is a free concert series held every Friday night in Miller Plaza, rain or shine; Riverfront Nights
is another free concert series offered on Saturday nights at Ross's
Landing; and every fourth of July, the Chattanooga symphony orchestra
has Pops on the River at Coolidge Park to celebrate our country's independence. And on top of that, Signal Mountain has the Mountain Opry where local bluegrass bands play for free on the weekends.
In addition to those great family (and dog) friendly options, every October for the last ten years, the Three Sisters Bluegrass Festival
has taken place at Ross's Landing. We haven't been able to go every
year, but this was our fourth year to attend and we had a great time.
This year we went on a Saturday afternoon (so we didn't see some of our favorite's like Chatham County Line), but we had fun none-the-less.
There is a huge field at Ross's Landing where everyone sets up their camp chairs and the kids can run and play. Jack learned how to hula hoop and Isaac was determined to sneak off to the "cake by the slice" tent.
We met up with friends and had a lovely afternoon. Who knows, maybe next year we might be able to last into the evening. The laid back, family-friendly, music scene is just another reason we love where we live.
This past Friday night we were whisked into Ian Flemming and Roald Dahl's world of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Having grown up watching Dick Van Dyke play Caractacus Potts in the
1968 movie, I was both excited and curious as to how a children's
theater would handle a story about a car that not only drives, but
floats and flies as well.
Overall
the theater group handled the story very well, singing so many of my
favorite songs and providing lots of comic relief in the form of the
Vulgarian spies in the first act (they were hilarious!).
The play took place at the Signal Mountain Playhouse
– an outdoor amphitheater where a different play takes place every
summer during the month of July. This was our first time to attend, but
last year they did Peter Pan and the year before that was The King and I.
With
two little ones under the age of five, we weren't sure how the night
would go. But since we had had success with staying up for July 4th fireworks,
we thought we would give it a chance. The boys did pretty well. Jack
got a little antsy during the second act (it helped that he was already
familiar with the movie), and we just kept giving Isaac snacks so he
wouldn't be fussy.
Jack enjoyed the show, but was not a fan of the Child Catcher. All week he has told me how much he did not like the bad guy who took children. My favorite parts of this version of the story were the two spies in the first act and the "Doll on the Music Box" scene from the second act.
If you are interested in attending a play at the Signal Mountain Playhouse, here are some logistics you should be aware of:
The play is only on Friday and Saturday nights during the month of July and tickets cost $15 for adults and $5 for kids. Tickets go
on sale at 6pm the night of the show. Daniel got in line at 5:30pm and
said that the place was about 3/4 full by the time he left. When you buy
your tickets, you also set up your camp chair in your desired spot (we
had center seats with a great view).
The show doesn't start until 8pm, so we were able to eat dinner between the time of purchasing our tickets and the start of the show. You can bring food and drinks into the amphitheater – you could even bring a picnic while you wait for the play to start. There is also a snack bar – popcorn only costs $1. We did not get back to our car until about 10:30pm, so if you take little ones, be aware that it is a very late night for them!
We had a lot of fun and I look forward to attending future shows. After restraining myself from singing along during the play, I've been singing my favorite Chitty Chitty Bang Bang songs all week!
I think one of the biggest lessons I have learned since having kids is that there are numerous instances when you need to adjust your expectations. For us, a recent example of this was Valentine's Day... Sunday (the commercialized day of love), Daniel was coming off of working 14 nights straight. So his world was all mixed up. For that two week period, he would come home and be in bed by 5am and then up some time after lunch to squeeze in precious moments with us before heading back to work. All of you who work nights (my sister included), hats off to you for making this lifestyle work. It was an exhausting two weeks! And not just for Daniel. I don't sleep well when I know Daniel has to drive 65 minutes home after working all night, then I would have to get up and juggle most of the parental responsibilities. Not an easy two weeks for any of us. Anyways, on Sunday I woke up and wrangled the boys out the door for church while Daniel got caught up on his sleep. We came home and snacked instead of eating a real lunch, then headed out for an early dinner at El Metate (a local fave on our mountain). Evidently Mexican is not a romantic enough dinner, as we easily got a table for the four of us. After our fill of burritos for the boys and fajitas for us, we headed home to get the boys in bed.
Once our boys were tucked in, we collapsed on the couch with a chocolate mug cake and ice cream that I threw together. There were no cards, no flowers, no gifts. Just exhausted parents with cake in a mug, watching Netflix. As our TV show came to a close, I was struggling to stay awake. So I crawled into bed while Daniel (who was now in the habit of being awake all night) decided to go to the movies. Alone. Talk about romantic. I slept and Daniel saw a late showing of a war movie. Tuesday night I had a girl's night out planned (the older I get, the more I appreciate these nights out). One of my friends ordered a dessert to take home to her husband and I thought that was a sweet gesture. So I ordered one as well. It still wasn't Valentines day, but sometimes special, unexpected treats are even better. When I got home, the boys were already in bed so I made Daniel and I decaf lattes and we shared the tiramisu. Such is life. It's not always what you think it ought to be, but if you take the time, you can still share sweet moments together.
Today marked our second visit to the Hidden Hills Farm and Saddle Club for a play day. It's hard to believe that Isaac was only a month old for our first visit! Thankfully Daniel was off of work today (after working the last 10 days with only one day off) and we were able to take advantage of the beautiful weather and a farm full of tractors to play on.
This play day was made for Jack and Daniel. They were in a truck heaven. Hopefully in a couple of years, Isaac will be enjoying this experience just as much.
There was a skid steer that Jack got to drive (and then ride in the bucket of).
There were tractors to sit on and play with all of the controls (and Daniel gladly patiently answered every question Jack had about every lever and button in every tractor).
There was a backhoe to operate (Daniel was in his mid-twenties before he got to use a backhoe, and may have been a teeny bit jealous).
There was a bucket on the backhoe to ride up in the air in (you just had to trust the operator working the bucket).
There was a Kubota utility vehicle to drive in the back field. Jack had fun steering it any way but in a straight line.
And of course, there were horse rides again.
This was little boy heaven (and I have two little boys and one big one if you count Daniel).
The Cow Milking day that we attended in May was a fun event, but the Tractor Day is going on our calendars as a family day for the future.
If you missed this week's Tractor Day, they are having another one next Thursday, Sept. 24. The cost to visit the farm is $10 for your first child and $5 for subsequent kids (babies are free). Tractor Day is definitely worth the visit. We had a wonderful time!
Jack gets to help drive a skid steer, then take a ride in the bucket.
Jack and Mommy ride in the Backhoe bucket. Jack and Daddy play with the dump truck, while Isaac gets up close and personal with the skid steer and Mommy almost has a heart attack.
