Saturday... sun shiny Saturday.
A day spent tying up loose ends from the past week and preparing for the one to come. Grocery shopping with two 3-year-olds in tow is always entertaining. When Daddy takes this chore off my hands, the results are always interesting.
Without a shopping list to follow, hubby and the kids came home with all the essentials and a few treats to boot. Speaking of boots...
Next of the list of tasks to take on was acquiring winter boots for the kids so we head off to Georgetown to visit Payless. It has become the ritual to measure feet upon entry to the store, where we are informed Erin is now size 11 and Ty is between 10 and 11, depending on the brand. In their size section are several options for girls, mostly laden with Disney princesses and Dora, all faux suede with faux fur ruffles. Very pretty. Very girly. Very pink. Boys boots come in several colour variations of one style boot. Both come with a price tag of $45 each.
Exit Payless.
Enter Walmart.
The Winter Boots for Children section presents many options in either gender and a gender neutral selection of various sizes. Both Erin and Ty decide on a light-weight, pull-on, endorsement-free style that ends just below their knee. Price tag reads $25. It's impossible to ask them if they like the boots they've chosen because they are giggling wildly while running around the aisles of the shoe section.
We'll accept that as a 'Yes'.
Shoes and children in tow, we head home to finish taking down the garden and putting away outdoor toys and furniture. Prep dinner to be ready when we get home again because we're not here to stay. We're heading out....
It's Fright Night at Chris Gibson Community Centre.
I don't know what to expect, and I'm thrilled to see we aren't the only parents with pre-schoolers in hand. Ty has fallen asleep upon arrival. Erik carries Ty and I walk with Erin. We're told there's a haunted house. Erin is excited. Curious. As we pass staff in full ghoul dress, she becomes a little apprehensive. While we wait for our turn in the line, tweens and teens are fleeing out of both the exit and entrance doors, terrified. I start to wonder what I was thinking when I suggested this would be something fun to do with the kids. How many times will this come up in therapy later?
The line moves quickly and we soon find ourselves next to enter the haunted house. I've been telling Erin that the ghosts and ghouls she's about to meet are playful and friendly. If she starts to feel scared, she should shout 'BOO!' at the ghoul because that will make it laugh. After all, a laughing ghost is a friendly ghost. Ty wakes up just as we're about to go in. Fortunately for him, we had this discussion before we left the house. As we walk into the haunted house, for Ty's sake, we all go through a very quick review.
Hats off to the staff running the haunted house. Dressed to frighten and prepared to leap out of dark shadows, they are quite benign as we pass with the kids, many leaping back, seemingly terrified, as Erin and Ty 'BOO!' enthusiastically in response. Exiting the haunted house, we pass a mom who says to her son, "See! Those little kids aren't scared!". I can only hope he had as much fun as we did.
We walk outside just as the wagon ride arrives. It hauls us into the field behind the Center, careening back and forth. We bounce the kids on our knees, much to their delight, as we bump along. The only tears brought on by a night of thrills and chills come as we carry the kids to the car.
"I want to do that again!"
We'll be visiting another Parks 'n Rec sponsored Fright Night soon.
