Finally, it’s the weekend. No school, no work, just a time to relax, spend the day as a family, and get a few things done around the house. We went to bed early Friday night after a long week for all of us, and we woke up remarkably refreshed on Saturday morning. The weather was so lovely that my husband and I decided to take the kids to the park and have a cookout for lunch. We loaded ourselves into the car and ran to the store to grab some food and snacks for the cookout. Rushing through the store as usual, we filled the cart, first with charcoal and lighter fluid, then frozen burgers, hot dogs, buns for both, all the condiments of course, chips, juice boxes, waters, some pasta salad, and a few other extras the kids couldn’t resist.
Heading back home after shopping, we pulled into the driveway and hopped out of the car. In the house, I got out the coolers from our storage closet and some ice packs from the freezer. We filled the coolers, one with all the food that we wanted to stay cold and the other with the drinks. Then I had the kids grab whatever outdoor toys and games they wanted to use while at the park. Meanwhile my husband grabbed a picnic blanket, the aluminum foil, some seasonings for the burgers, a metal spatula, tongs, and other utensils. Oh, he almost forgot the plates! Haha! We loaded the car up again, double checking to make sure we didn’t miss anything else, and we headed to the park.
We pulled up and found a parking spot in the shade, barely stopping before the kids shot out of the car like bullets straight for the playground. I looked over at my husband, and he knew as well as I did, one of us would be unloading the car alone while the other watched the kids. Rock, paper, scissors? No. I told him I’d unload if he would watch the kids, then his chivalry kicked in and he said, “of course not.” He wouldn’t let me unload everything by myself. So I went with the kids while he unpacked the car onto a grassy spot that had a grill nearby.
The kids ran to the picnic spot and instantly asked for snacks and a juice box. My husband prepped the grill with the charcoal while I dug through the bags to get them some chips and popcorn. Then I got into the cooler to get them a juice box. Soon the burgers were sizzling and the hot dogs were cooking. The kids were running around the field with a bunch of their toys, including a kite. When they finally got their kite to lift off the ground, they were so excited. It went higher and higher and higher! I sat watching and thought to myself, ‘It couldn’t have been a better day for this.’
Lunch got done cooking and I got all the sides set up while my husband served up the main course on our plates. I called the kids over and they zoomed up to the picnic blanket. Each of them instantly grabbed a plate and began to devour their food as if they had been starving. When we all finished eating, the kids played for a while longer while my husband and I packed up everything we brought back into the car.
When we finally left the park, the kids were exhausted and of course, hungry again. We drove home with the windows down, enjoying the wonderful breeze and all the fresh air flowing through the car. It was such a fun day, and it wasn’t even over yet. Just as we pulled onto our street, my husband leaned over and said, “so, what’s for dinner?” And I leaned over to him and said, “let’s unload the car first.” Haha! We unloaded the car and took care of everything we had brought with us that day. Then just before I was getting dinner started, the kids came into the kitchen and asked if we could do it all again tomorrow. Now that’s what I’d call a day of smashing success.
