Day 592 -- Bad Day Turned Better
Dharia woke up this morning fever-free and ready to rock. Her choice? The Big Lake -- that is, Lake Michigan.
We had the suits, towels, beach toys, and peanut butter and jellies packed and ready to go.
We needed to stop for just a moment to gas up the van. As my husband went inside to pay, a lovely elderly gentleman informed me that we were leaking gas all over the ground underneath the van. Another man walked up, concerned, and told me that it was so bad that we shouldn't even drive the van home. Home was only 1.5 miles away, so I figured that this was a pretty big deal.
Fortunately for us, College Motors was literally right across the road, so we unloaded the kids and left Colby to drive across the street with the chance of blowing up in a giant fireball. By the grace of God, he didn't.
Q: What's more depressing than seeing nearly $100 worth of gas leak out of your car onto the cement below?
A: Finding out that it will take $1200 to fix it. By the way, we paid $2100 for our van four years ago.
This was putting serious cramp in our beach trip. By the time we got the Saturn and re-loaded, we were over an hour behind. Our beach day was sort of turning into beach afternoon.
Colby and I were determined to keep a good attitude, even though we were both feeling decidedly un-perky (perky is a new word Breslin learned...I was determined to use it in my post today). We sang songs. We stopped in Battle Creek for a Hot-N-Ready pizza and ate it in Riverside Park with the kids. We checked Colby's new fancy phone to see if there were any geocaches around. We did everything we could to be spontaneous, turn this trip into an adventure, and enjoy our time together as a family.
There was a geocache right in the park we stopped at for lunch, so we traipsed off to find it. It was kind of in the woods, so it was really fun. The girls explored the area, Breslin climbed some trees, and Colby and I searched high and low for the hidden container. We finally did find it, but in return for the kids' patience, we thought it necessary to let them pay for a while at another playground in a different section of the park.
By this time, we were really running behind schedule. It was after two o'clock, and Dharia was really starting to freak out that we might not make it to the beach. Colby and I looked at each other. We headed west on 94 towards the beach, determined to get these kids some beach time today.
An hour or so later, we ended up at Jean-Klock Park in the Benton Harbor-Saint Joseph area, and all of the frustrations and set backs sort of melted away. The kids frolicked in the sand and swam so much they turned pruny. The normally frigid water was perfectly refreshing, and the flawlessly clean beach was nearly deserted due to the late hour. Colby and I even had a chance to sit back in the beach chairs and watch the kids play -- something we have really enjoyed about their older ages this summer.
We had so much fun that we decided that we would stay -- overnight. No change of clothes? No problem. We plan on being in our swimsuits most of the time any way.
Please don't rob my house, okay?
Colby used Priceline to find a place cheap, so we are going to stay and let the kids beach it up tomorrow too. It turns out that there is an amazing kids' museum here too, as well as a park with a merry-go-round right on the beach. These are things that we must see. I wish that I could post the great pictures I took of the kids in and around the water, but I'm writing this on the computer in the lobby of the hotel, watching the women's gymnastic event finals -- something I wouldn't have been able to do at home with no cable.
So the day started out pretty crummy, but I'm happy for the unique ability that God has to turn things around. I'm thankful to be enjoying one last hurrah with my family, so to speak, before the craziness of cross-country and school begins.
Thank God for a bad day turned better!
God, thank you for giving us second chances in so many ways. Thank you especially for turning this day around and giving me the opportunity to make so many memories with my family. Please bless our day tomorrow. In your name I pray, Amen.
We had the suits, towels, beach toys, and peanut butter and jellies packed and ready to go.
We needed to stop for just a moment to gas up the van. As my husband went inside to pay, a lovely elderly gentleman informed me that we were leaking gas all over the ground underneath the van. Another man walked up, concerned, and told me that it was so bad that we shouldn't even drive the van home. Home was only 1.5 miles away, so I figured that this was a pretty big deal.
Fortunately for us, College Motors was literally right across the road, so we unloaded the kids and left Colby to drive across the street with the chance of blowing up in a giant fireball. By the grace of God, he didn't.
Q: What's more depressing than seeing nearly $100 worth of gas leak out of your car onto the cement below?
A: Finding out that it will take $1200 to fix it. By the way, we paid $2100 for our van four years ago.
This was putting serious cramp in our beach trip. By the time we got the Saturn and re-loaded, we were over an hour behind. Our beach day was sort of turning into beach afternoon.
Colby and I were determined to keep a good attitude, even though we were both feeling decidedly un-perky (perky is a new word Breslin learned...I was determined to use it in my post today). We sang songs. We stopped in Battle Creek for a Hot-N-Ready pizza and ate it in Riverside Park with the kids. We checked Colby's new fancy phone to see if there were any geocaches around. We did everything we could to be spontaneous, turn this trip into an adventure, and enjoy our time together as a family.
There was a geocache right in the park we stopped at for lunch, so we traipsed off to find it. It was kind of in the woods, so it was really fun. The girls explored the area, Breslin climbed some trees, and Colby and I searched high and low for the hidden container. We finally did find it, but in return for the kids' patience, we thought it necessary to let them pay for a while at another playground in a different section of the park.
By this time, we were really running behind schedule. It was after two o'clock, and Dharia was really starting to freak out that we might not make it to the beach. Colby and I looked at each other. We headed west on 94 towards the beach, determined to get these kids some beach time today.
An hour or so later, we ended up at Jean-Klock Park in the Benton Harbor-Saint Joseph area, and all of the frustrations and set backs sort of melted away. The kids frolicked in the sand and swam so much they turned pruny. The normally frigid water was perfectly refreshing, and the flawlessly clean beach was nearly deserted due to the late hour. Colby and I even had a chance to sit back in the beach chairs and watch the kids play -- something we have really enjoyed about their older ages this summer.
We had so much fun that we decided that we would stay -- overnight. No change of clothes? No problem. We plan on being in our swimsuits most of the time any way.
Please don't rob my house, okay?
Colby used Priceline to find a place cheap, so we are going to stay and let the kids beach it up tomorrow too. It turns out that there is an amazing kids' museum here too, as well as a park with a merry-go-round right on the beach. These are things that we must see. I wish that I could post the great pictures I took of the kids in and around the water, but I'm writing this on the computer in the lobby of the hotel, watching the women's gymnastic event finals -- something I wouldn't have been able to do at home with no cable.
So the day started out pretty crummy, but I'm happy for the unique ability that God has to turn things around. I'm thankful to be enjoying one last hurrah with my family, so to speak, before the craziness of cross-country and school begins.
Thank God for a bad day turned better!
God, thank you for giving us second chances in so many ways. Thank you especially for turning this day around and giving me the opportunity to make so many memories with my family. Please bless our day tomorrow. In your name I pray, Amen.
Comments
Except for the van part. Ugh. :(