Train Museum

I had planned on visiting my sister-in-law today (she lives about 2 1/2 hours away.) She thought it'd be nice to meet somewhere in the middle, have lunch and then go to the beach. Rain was in the forecast but we decided to go anyway because we could probably find something else to do anyway.

And, of course, it rained all day long! We went to a place for lunch I hadn't been to before and it was really nice. The kiddos loved the shrimp there so we'll definitely be returning. We walked along an area with many shops and then to a Railroad Museum that none of us had visited. It was better than I thought it'd be. Most of it was outside (we were able to climb up and into real railroad cars and engines.) For some reason, my preschool loved saying, "I'm a doctor." Apparently, he wanted to make sure we knew because he must have said it about 75 times...in an hour. Each time I acknowledged it, he repeated it. Even when I didn't say anything, he let me know. It was becoming almost funny though and it was a lesson on patience for me!

At one point, it was thundering and lightening (scared the kids a bit!) We were walking in a railroad car getting ready to climb back down and into the rain and weather again, my first grader stopped me and got ahead of me. He said, "Mom, stop, I want to die first. I don't want you to die so I'm going first so you will be ok." I heard him say it but it didn't register as we're walking. And, then all of a sudden, it occurs to me what he had just said. He was probably thinking that the lightening might strike us as we were descending and wanted it to hit him, not me. I didn't even have a chance to say anything to him. He just went on as if it was just another statement of his. But to me...it was more. I was caught offguard and awed in his protectiveness. So incredibly sweet.

By the time we finished seeing all those cars outside at the museum, we were cold and wet. We walked down a couple of blocks and went to a store to eat ice cream and drink strawberry shakes. The boys rode one of those horses (with real saddles) that you put 50cents in to ride. They loved it! And, as we were enjoying the moment, my first grader ran into his soccer teammate (who was also with his family in the same place!) What a small world that we ran into someone we knew (in a place 2 hours from home.) Their plans had changed too due to the weather and they were also making the best of it.

We drove home shortly afterwards. I hate driving in dark, rainy weather because the monotony and the sound of the rain pounding on the car makes me sleepy, lol! But we got home safe and sound. As we were getting ready for bed (or rather, sending the kids to do last minute errands as they're getting ready,) my first grader came up to me and said, "I have something for you." As he came closer, he hugged me. Awwww...it's days like these that I love being a parent!