The weekend in which we walked

and walked and walked.

Friday evening we took the kids to Wright-Patt Air Force Base for what I thought was going to be a really great time.

Not so much. As you can see, we parked REALLY far away from all the *action*. If you look way off into the distance you'll see to the left some tall things. That's where we headed.
Not only was it a far walk (we're talking 2 miles just to get there!) it was through an un-mowed grassy field. And as you can see, Olivia and I thought it would be "cute" to dress up. We were both wearing sandals.

Oh, and did I mention that it was about 88 degrees? And humid?

When we finally got *there* there wasn't too much for the kids to do. But the boys did want to sit in the cockpit of a fighter jet. For about 5 seconds.

At least they were in a tent, in the shade.

Just look at all the fun Quinn is having!

The big draw for the evening were fireworks (beginning at 9:30, which we hadn't even considered staying for) and the band 38 Special. I *might* have known something they sang back in 1989. But I've since forgotten. Plus, we left before they were up.

Turner and Olivia did get to meet the mascot of the Dayton Dragons, our minor minor league baseball team. (AAA or something like that?)

The paper had mentioned something about a family tent. Well, we didn't find that. But clear on the other side of the *activities* were a bunch of inflatable jump things. It cost a dollar a person for about a 4 minute jump. But when you walk 3 miles to sit in a hot airplane and see a dinosaur mascot, you let your kids jump in an over priced inflatable.

Then, we walked back. All. The. Way. Back.

The kids did much better than I thought. They all walked, except for Turner. I seriously had the thought, "What if we don't make it?" "Do I call 911 and mention something about being in the middle of a grassy field at the Air Force Base?"

But with the promise of a McDonald's Happy Meal at the end of the trip, they squeaked it out and we all made it. Except for Olivia. I think she might have had a touch of heat stroke. I needed to cool her down in a bath and she couldn't even eat her Happy Meal. Oops.

You would have thought everyone would have slept in late into the morning on Saturday.

Right.

We were up and at 'em by 6:30am. Early enough to hop over to a nearby Historical Park that was featuring a Railway Expo.

Here we are on what we thought was going to be our *train ride* for the day. Thankfully, it just saved us from yet another looooong walk (which we ended up doing on our way back to the car at the end of the morning!)

We met our good friends, Ava and Cooper, there. Their parents, Matt and Sally, are our festival going partners in crime. Unfortunately (for us, not them) they were unavailable Friday night, so they met us Saturday for the trains.

The big highlight of the day was standing in line to take a ride on a mini train.

Turner was so excited, but had trouble waiting in the line.

The line, for once, was actually worth the wait. It was a silly little ride, but it was long and the kids LOVED it.

They even got their own *ticket*, which Turner carried around the whole rest of the day.

After the ride, we toured a few antique rail cars. The kids loved that too.

All in all, Saturday was a big success. Minus the longer walk back to the car.

Today my plan? Sit on my butt!