Concert, Strawberry Patch, Air Show, & Birthday Kinda Weekend

Whew!  I feel like I need a weekend to recover from the weekend!  It was a long one as I took Friday off, and we really packed it in!!  Let’s start from the beginning…

Thursday night, B and I went out for a date night to see Chris Stapleton.  We started off the evening with dinner and drinks at one of our favorite local restaurants.  I had a steak and their famous gouda mac n cheese, and B had chicken and waffles.  We ended up missing the opener because the traffic was so bad getting in, but we arrived just in time to get to our second row seats before he started.  You guys, he was phenomenal.  His voice was constantly on point and he has so much soul it’s ridiculous.  He. Can. SANG.  If you haven’t checked him out (or if you don’t know who he is) then you really should.  You may recognize him for his Grammy’s performance with Justin Timeberlake a couple of years ago when they sang his hit Tennessee Whiskey.  I don’t know how anyone could not LOVE that song.

Friday Jacob and I were up bright and early for a field trip to the strawberry patch!  We left right around 9 AM and settled in for the hour long car ride.  One of the other moms rode with me and we followed the school bus full of kindergarteners all the way there.  The drive went quickly since I had someone to chat with so I was glad she had asked to ride. 

We arrived around 10 and the weather was gorgeous (although SUPER windy).  The kids settled in to listen to the owner teach them a little about growing and picking strawberries and then he turned them loose.  I had four kids in my group including Jacob and the kids picked and picked and picked and ate and ate and ate.  The owner had told them that all of his strawberries are grown without pesticide and insecticide, so they were 100% safe to pick and eat straight out of the ground… no washing required.  One of the kids in my group told me he ate 16 strawberries.  OMG.  Haha.  I was worried he was going to throw up on the bus.

While the kids picked, I grabbed a basket and picked as well.  There were tons and tons and all of them were perfect, red, and ripe.  I might have eaten a few straight out of the ground, too, and they were delicious.  ;o)

Once the picking was done, we all grabbed our lunchboxes and settled in at some picnic tables to eat, and then the owner of the orchard passed out homemade strawberry ice cream that they make right there at the orchard using their own berries.  There was a shop with strawberry fritters, strawberry jam, strawberry ice cream, strawberry lemonade, you name it!  It was by far my favorite field trip that I’ve chaperoned so far.  I can’t wait to take Olivia in a couple of years when she is in Kindergarten!

We arrived back home around 2 and the teachers let me go ahead and take Jacob home a little early since I was already there, so we had the rest of the day to ourselves.

We stopped by my mom’s office to say hello (since she’s on the school campus) and then we headed home.  We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging.  Jacob watched a little bit of TV while I tidied up the kitchen and caught up on blog reading, and then when B and Olivia arrived home a couple of hours later, we headed downtown for the first spring Friday night concert.

We walked to our favorite brew pub first and had dinner with my parents, and then we sat outside to listen to the band.  The kiddos played by the fountain (as always) and then got balloons from the balloon lady.  Of course Jacob’s popped within two minutes of receiving his, so he had a minor meltdown, but the balloon lady was kind enough to make him another one.  After that, he wanted us to carry it around all night so it wouldn’t pop again.  Happens every time.  Won’t be getting those again.  Lol.

We finished the evening with ice cream and then loaded up to get the kiddos home and down for a late bedtime.  B and I stayed up for a while and caught up on shows, and then it was off to bed.

Saturday we were up and out bright and early to have breakfast at Panera followed by taking the kids to an air show.  We go pretty much every year, and it’s one of my favorite traditions that I never get tired of.

When we first arrived, the show was still a couple of hours from starting so we let the kids play on the inflatables for a good long time.  They had a rocket inflatable that was the largest inflatable I’ve ever seen… it had to have been three stories tall!  Jacob was thrilled that he was tall enough to go on it, but Olivia wasn’t quite there yet, so she stuck to the bouncy houses.

We walked around for a bit after that, taking in all the sights.  We stopped at an old Navy jet and toured it.  The kids got to sit in the cockpit and Oliva asked the Navy pilot (who was one of the pilots who searched for the Malaysia flight that went down a few years ago) in there if we were going to “fly high in the sky.”  It was so cute.

Once we got out of the jet it was almost time for the show to start, so we found a place in the middle of the tarmac and settled in.  They kicked off the show with a BMX biker show and a single Silver Wing parachuter who jumped out of a plane with an American flag, and then five more Silver Wing parachuters jumped out of another plane shortly after.  That is always one of my favorite things at the show.  It’s incredible to watch them fall so high from the sky.  When they jump, they are so high that they look like tiny dots in the sky… I can’t imagine how scary and exhilarating that must be.

We grabbed a few hot dogs for lunch and continued to watch the show.  A fighter jet flew over and scared the crap out of Olivia, a stunt plane did a bunch of loops and tricks in the air and also scared the crap out of Olivia, and then out came the Shockwave jet truck… which scared the crap out of Olivia more than the other two things put together.  Haha.  It’s a truck that is built with a jet engine and it goes 367 miles per hour.  When he first comes out, he goes slowly down the runway shooting the fire out of the back, and when the fire comes out it is so loud that you can feel it in your chest.  The fire is so hot that I swear my eyebrows were going to be singed.  And a ton of smoke comes out of the back, too.  Olivia was TERRIFIED.  After he went down the runway slowly once, he went to the other side of the runway (further away from the crowd) and then fired up the jet engine and FLEW down the runway.  It is unbelievable how fast it goes.  It goes 367 miles per hour and it holds the record for the fastest truck.  It’s so fast and dangerous that it has two sets of parachutes that stop it and there were several fire trucks all around in case something bad happened.  You would have to be crazy to be the driver of that thing!

When it was over Olivia recovered pretty quickly and then four yellow biplanes came out to do some tandem flying and I snapped the coolest picture of them flying right by an American flag. 

As they were flying, the jet truck was parking back in its spot, and we walked down to see it up close.  Jacob got to meet the driver so he was thrilled.

At that point it was way past Olivia’s nap, so we headed back to let them jump on the inflatables one last time, and then we watched a stealth bomber fly over.  So freaking cool, you guys.  I mean look how tiny it is from the side:

You can barely see it!  Then from underneath it looks like this:

Jacob and I agreed that it looks like something from Star Wars or like an alien ship or something.  It didn’t even look real.

After that we headed home to rest for a while.  Olivia napped, Jacob played, B did some work, and I sat out in the back yard and read for a little bit until it was time to get ready for the Mother/Son dance at Jacob’s school.

He and I met a couple of other moms and sons at one of our fave local restaurants for dinner before the dance, and then we headed over to the school.  The theme was superheroes, and they had a professional photographer taking pictures of everyone.  The pics aren’t back yet, so I’ll have to share those with you when we get them.  Several of the other moms are actually my friends who went to the same school with me years ago, so we all sat around chatting all evening while the boys ran wild.  Jacob literally ran around the room with his friends all night long.  Like literally running.  He was drenched with sweat by the time we slow danced to the last song that the DJ played.  And it still blows my mind that I went to a dance with my son in the same auditorium in which I used to go to my own school dances.  And the fact that he plays with the kids of my friends from grade school and high school?  Just crazy.  And so neat.

Meanwhile, Olivia and Brian went on a Father/Daughter date to eat Mexican and then they popped some popcorn and watched a movie at home.  <3

Sunday morning I got caught up on organizing my to do lists (seriously we have SO much going on the next few weeks!) and the rest of the day was for celebrating me!  We had lunch with B’s family first.  My MIL made Mongolian beef since she knows how much I love it, and then we had a cookie cake for dessert.  I opened gifts and was so excited to have received oodles of things off of my birthday wish list - this necklace, this round mirrored tray, several books, and a few other things.  My in-laws always make birthdays so special and I’m so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing outside in the yard because the weather was perfection yet again.  Plus, their house is right near the airport, so we were able to hear and see some more of day two of the air show right there in the back yard.

Sunday evening was dinner with my family, and my cousin was in town from Los Angeles, so he and my aunt and uncle also joined us.  I don’t get to see him but once or twice a year, so it was a real treat.  My mom made meatloaf, parmesan mashed potatoes, black eyed peas, and turnips upon my request, and then we had a chocolate almond cake.  I was showered with more gifts, and guess what they got me??  These pom pom sandals and this pom pom key chain that I have been dying over!!!!  I just love my sweet family!  My Momma always makes sure that birthdays are special!

SUCH a crazy busy weekend, and SUCH a wonderful one.  Do we have to go back to work today?

*Linking up with B Loved Boston for Weekending, My Glittery Heart for Hello Monday,  More Pieces of Me for Hello Monday Linkup, and HoHo Runs for Weekly Wrap.

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