Magic and Mayhem

Tonight was media night for the Wilder Pageant, so Daryl and the girls had to be in full costume and ready to pose for newspaper photographers and such (this picture is from media night two years ago!). We did a grocery run in the afternoon and got home just in time to dash about getting everybody ready and out the door again.

My part in it went about like this….

Herd everybody in with groceries, unpack cold groceries with Victoria quickly while Anna goes potty and grabs her costume, direct Jack putting away groceries, put Daryl’s shirt in the dryer and check to see if his pants are dry enough to wear, brush Anna’s hair and help her put her pinafore on, have Victoria unbraid her hair and start brushing it, direct one kid after another to stand in the driveway and watch the sleeping baby so we can get ready without my holding him, apologize to Daryl for giving him a wet shirt to wear, throw together pistachios and dried cranberries for a snack for the car, quickly brush and part and braid Victoria’s hair since she says they’re too rough when they do it at the site, find black socks for the girls, help Daryl get his socks and shoes, button Victoria’s dress in back, tell Victoria to pause her tomagatchi and leave it at home, get the sleeping baby out of the car and the girls into the car with Daddy, blow kisses, holler “I love you” and then … breathe.

The boys and I hung out while they were off being famous. We spent our time getting covered in plums and bathing, or at least some of us did.

Approximately 30 seconds after Daryl and the girls got home, Anna and I practiced her teenaged years again. We survived. I mention it only in the spirit of full disclosure.

We finished off the night with a moonlit walk. I invited Jack to go walking with me and Victoria heard and asked him if she could come. He’s a sweetie and said sure. He asked if he could bring his lantern and I said sure, so we headed out with his little camping lantern down the quiet streets.

On our second trip around the block, Anna came running out and asked to join us. We said sure and we did another loop. We took turns holding the lantern and holding hands, talking about everything from the short story Victoria is writing with her pageant friend to Jack’s new fear of ghosts.

We finished the night watching a DVD about the hidden wonders of Hawaii. It was an IMAX movie from Netflix and was beautiful and interesting. There was a crazy botanist who paddles dangerous waters and climbs up a rock face every year to fertilize some poor plant that is becoming extinct because its natural polinators have disappeared. Who would have thought botany was so dangerous and exciting? We saw plants that looked like bad special effects, oozing lava, wild pigs and a whole lot of incredibly beautiful scenery.

Jack fell asleep cuddled up to me, no doubt dreaming of lava and wild pigs.

The day had some mayhem, some drama and some magical moments. Hopefully we’ll remember the latter most.