Crazy Loud Car-Crushing Trucks

April 20, 2009

We certainly made the social rounds this past weekend. On Friday night, Danielle was invited to a sleepover birthday party, and Brianna met up with about 20 of her friends to see "17 Again" at the theater. (I swear, I can't believe how many friends that girl has--I don't think I even knew that many people when I was her age, let alone that many people I could call good friends. And she is clearly the social director/organizer of the group! We are so blessed that she is such a friendly, good-hearted girl who makes people smile wherever she goes, and that she's got such a strong innate ability to choose positive people with whom to surround herself.) Anyway, that left just Nicholas to hang out with Doug and me after Family Dinner Night, so we decided we would do something that would specifically appeal to the 100% boy in him.

I can't take credit for this idea; it was all Doug's. He texted me early on in the day to let me know that the Monster Truck Races were happening at the fair grounds that night. Naturally, this had escaped my radar, since I don't tend to be on the lookout for the noisy, testoterone-fueled kinds of entertainment. But since he brought it up, I checked it out and discovered that the times coincided nicely with drop-off and pick up time for Bree, and the admissions charge was pretty reasonable. Our fate was sealed, and the plans were made.

We decided it would be fun to surprise Nicholas, so we didn't tell him where we were going. Even as we were pulling up to the fairgrounds, he was trying to guess what we were taking him to that was 'especially for him without the girls.' Star Wars convention? Robotics show? Airplane museum? Some place with really cool Lego creations? As we got closer to the entrance, we could hear the engines booming. A huge grin broke out across his face and excitement danced in his eyes. MONSTER TRUCKS! We had scored big parent points--the boy was beside himself.

I have to admit, attending the thing didn't make a convert out of me. It's just not my cup of tea. It's a little too noisy and dirty for me. Not that I have an aversion to dirt and noise, as anyone who has ever been to my house is well aware; I just prefer the kinds of dirt and noise generated by children, rather than by burly men in big trucks. That being said, it was well worth it to me to see the way Nicholas cheered for his favorite (isn't it interesting how quickly one can attach to a 'favorite'), throwing his fists in the air and his voice to the wind. He was transfixed. Crazy loud, car-crushing trucks for him, memory of the look on his face for me. Definitely a fair trade-off!

Afterwards, we picked up Bree and continued our family night with a Rock Band concert. Nicholas and Doug are our Rock Star guitar players, and Bree is learning the words to all kinds of songs she's never even heard before. I'm rockin' the drums, though I have to admit that right now I'm the weakest link. I guess taking a couple of months off from my 'skills' was a bit of a set-back.

The next day, we all took in a little sun at Danielle's softball game. By 'took in a little sun,' I mean baked 'til our shoulders and noses were a crispy red. We seemed to jump from the low seventies to the high eighties overnight, and bad mom that I am, I didn't remember the sunscreen. (It's inexplicable to me, that sunscreen seems to be the one item that forever slips into the black hole of my memory whenever I'm trying to be prepared for an outing. Bandaids? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Something to drink? Check. A blanket to sit on? Check. Everything else except the kitchen sink? Check, check, check. Oh yeah....except the dang sunscreen!) Anyway, Danielle had a whole entourage there to watch her get another base hit. I'm a big fan of being a big fan. Though my other children sometimes grumble and complain, we all head out in full force to see whichever one of them happens to be playing, performing, dancing, competing...whatever. I believe we could all use a little cheering section now and then, and with a family,. you've got one built right in. Someday they'll thank me for it. Maybe.

The next day, with the kids off to their dad's, Doug and I had the day to ourselves. We decided to take in a concert by the Clovis Community Band. My good friend Bill Murray was playing a solo, so we were glad we could go see him. (I'm a sucker for a good musician, but that's another blog.) The concert was lovely, especially Bill's solo. Doug and I got to visit with some other old friends who were also in the band. Later, we met up with Doug's nephew Justin and his fiancee Courtney, and we played pool for a few hours. Although Doug plays every week, it had been almost four months since I last played, so it felt good to know that I hadn't totally lost my way around the pool table. Finally, we made our way home. I cooked one of our standby favorites for dinner, and we sank into the couch to watch a little bit of mindless fun on the television. Not a bad way to end our day.