Things about my childhood home, like...
The way I swung on the pole at the foot of our basement staircase...
The color of our carpet in every room in our house...
The shape of the backyard deck and the layout of the swing set...
The wallpaper in my bedroom...
And I remember things about what I did in my childhood, like...
The schoolroom I created in our unfinished basement for our neighborhood...
The sound of the wheels on our bikes when we decorated them with playing cards for the neighborhood block party...
The things we did outdoors in our neighborhood... catch frogs, play hide & seek, ride bikes, and catch fireflies...
The picnics we made and the "hikes" we took around our neighborhood...
The music (Neil Diamond!) we listened to during our outdoor adventures and summer block parties...
The vacations we took and the local adventures we embarked on... like going to the drive in theatre...
There are so many little details about my childhood for which I have a very vivid memory.
This weekend, I re-lived several of those memories with my own children!
First Up: Friday Night
We dressed the kids in their PJ's, packed a cooler with drinks, grabbed our blankets and pillows, jumped in the car, and headed off to the...
We are lucky to live in one of very few cities that still has a Drive In Theatre. And the Starlite Drive In happens to be one of those places I can vividly remember going as a child!
As we pulled in, I remembered the entrance drive just like it was yesterday... even though it has likely been 15-20 years since I last made that drive into the theatre parking lot.
There is just something about the simplicity of the Drive In that reminds me of my childhood and of a more simple time when families enjoyed being together much more than they seem to these days.
Noah had never heard of a Drive In and as I explained the concept to him, he was just about as excited as I'd ever seen him!
On the drive to the theatre, he asked questions the entire way about how we would see the movie, how would we hear the movie, where would we park at the movie, etc., etc.!
We got settled in with some drinks and popcorn...
And waited for it to get dark enough for the movie to begin...
Despite the sticky heat (close to 95 degrees), we still cuddled up with our pillows...
And then it finally began!You can see the amazement (and the heat!) on Emily's face (excuse the red eyes... I had to take these pictures with my phone)!
And for the next 2 hours, my kids had an absolute ball! Emily watched some of the movie, but found equal enjoyment in crawling around the car and up/down on the seats!
Despite Noah's fervent pleas to stay for the 2nd feature, we called it quits around 11:30 pm when Emily made it ever-so-clear that she had no intention of falling asleep!
All in all, it was such a fun and memorable night... one that conjured up old memories from my childhood and at the same time, created new ones with my own children!
I can't wait for the next kid-friendly show to be released so that we can make the Drive In theatre one of our own family traditions!
Next Up: Saturday Night
We went to a get together at my parents house with some friends from our church. They have four children and Noah was in hog heaven having so many people to play with!
As it grew dark, my parents backyard literally lit up with green flashing lights... fireflies!
Another childhood memory of mine is attempting to catch fireflies! Truth be told, I was always too scared to actually touch them! But I had friends who took mercy on me and shared their catches with me!
Like mother, like son!
When one of the girls delightfully exclaimed... "let's catch fireflies!", Noah squealed "OKAY!" with equal delight!
I rounded up some jars for them to use and they ran out of the house squealing with excitement.
And then I heard Noah say....
"But I'm too scared to touch them."
And just like my childhood friends did, little Mary took mercy on Noah and started catching fireflies to give to Noah to put inside his jar.
He could've cared less that he didn't actually catch his own fireflies... he still showed off his catches with pride!
It was so fun to watch another fun childhood memory play out right before my very eyes!
And Noah... sometimes I am amazed by how much of my personality he has inherited!
And Finally: Sunday Night
I grew up on the best little block... we played with our neighborhood kids daily and we affectionately referred to ourselves as the "Caddy Court Kids".
Our block parties were fantastic! We decorated our bikes, had big wheel races, did plays/performances for our parents, grilled out, and played all kinds of fun games. They were just the best and I loved being a part of the annual block party.
Times have changed since then, but having a great neighborhood is something that is still important to me... I want my kids to experience the joy of growing up in a neighborhood that is safe, fun, and shares our family values. Our neighborhood is just that.
And while the "set up" and location may have changed, our first annual neighborhood block party that occured on Sunday night was another opportunity for me to reflect back to my childhood and the block parties that I loved so much.
Just like my block parties from days past, this party entailed lots of grilling, food, and visiting...
But instead of bike decorating and big wheel races, we had an all out "fishing fest" at our block party!
There were plenty of fish to catch!
I wasn't the least bit surprised to see Emily's desire to touch the fish...
But Noah, on the other hand...
He really surprised me with his fingertip touch!
This is Gretchen. She reminds me so much of myself in my own childhood neighborhood. She, much like myself, is the mother to the group and loves to be in charge of the little ones... especially the babies!
After catching several fish and dipping our toes in the water, we took a break for dinner.
Dinner for my kids was comprised of several mouthfuls of brownies!
With brownie-filled bellies, they took off running...
for more fishing!
As the evening continued, Noah became better skilled in the art of fish-catching and ultimately caught about 7 or 8 little ones.
But...
Both kids' initial fascination with touching the little guys wore off...
BOTH kids, but especially Emily, started acting more and more like their mother...
This picture pretty much sums up how I feel about touching slimy, moving creatures!
One last childhood memory that was ever-so-present at this party was the presence of another one of the "Caddy Court Kids"! Farrah and I were the oldest of the Caddy Court bunch and now we both, once again, live in the same neighborhood. (She is standing next to me in the old picture above.)
And we both have little boys that are very close in age. They enjoy playing together just as we did so long ago! After fishing together, they even took up a little game of Hide & Seek with each other!
When I see pictures like these, it reminds me what life is about...
Enjoying the "little things" ...
like sitting in the hot summer grass, bare feet, and making special memories with my children!
I had a great childhood.
I love having the opportunity to say to my kids...
"You know, PaPa used to take Mommy to this Drive In when I was a little girl."
"It's okay, Mommy was afraid to touch the fireflies too."
"Mommy and Camden's mommy used to have parties in our neighborhood when we were kids too. We rode bikes and played Hide & Seek."
I can only hope that when my children are grown, they will look back on their own childhoods with the same fondness that I do mine. And I hope that they, too, will want to Re Live their own childhood memories with my grandchildren!
Nothing like a healthy breakfast from Sonic :)
The new tiger exhibit was simply amazing!
The highlight of the day was getting up close and personal with the giraffes! 
Did you know that no two "thumbprints" on a giraffe are the same?
Noah got to feed the giraffes!
He even fed the baby... who was born at 5 feet tall!
One of the Grizzlies taking a nap!
Noah pointed out his flower by saying...
The kids really enjoyed watching the enormous elephants... 
The chimps and gorillas always amaze me the most. 
Take 1
Take 2
Take 3
Take 4
And this is what happened when I tried "just one more time"!
The chimps and gorillas always amaze me the most. 
Take 1
Take 2
Take 3
Take 4
And this is what happened when I tried "just one more time"!
