The Chapman Family: Fire Station Open House

Last night I put Samuel down for bed at 7:30 p.m. opposed to his normal 8 p.m. bedtime and this morning I woke him up at 9:15 a.m. Who knows how long he might have slept if I hadn't woke him up. But we had to get out the door for church so off we went.

Don did call this morning before we went to church. It was good to hear from him. He's still a little tired from his trip this week but it sounds like he is being pretty productive with his correspondence coursework. He is still counting down the days til he returns (of course) and reports that we're down to less than 5 months now! (Although that may be more like the time he actually departs Iraq versus the time he arrives here with us). Still all stuff to look forward to.

He and Benjamin spoke for awhile and Benjamin told him all about his trip to the zoo and all the other fun stuff that's been happening around here. He was quite chatty today.

After church we had lunch and I put Samuel down for a nap. I had a sitter come over and Benjamin and I went to the Ashburn Fire Department Open House. They have this twice a year in our town (Spring and Fall). We hadn't been in awhile and he was thrilled. The only problem was that it started sprinkling as soon as we walked out the door to go. By the time we got there it was a pretty steady rain but there were people there so we joined them. It actually worked out really well because the

rain was not a down pour by any means and the lines were relatively short for everything.

We rode on top of a fire truck (in the rain with numerous other crazy people) and Benjamin got to participate in a whole bunch of stuff. He got to spray a fire hose and shoot down a

pretend fire in a little house and also knock down some cones with the spray of the hose, he crawled through a little smokey house which showed the kids to stay low and out of the smoke, and he got an I.D. card from the Sheriff's department.

The firefighters were incredibly friendly and kind to the kids. They really took the time with Benjamin to show him things today and to talk to him. I don't remember that happening in prior visits so I don't know if it's because he's getting older and the firefighters figure he understands more or if it is because it was rainy and not as many kids there. Anyway, I did notice and appreciate the time and effort they took with our son. Although he played the shy card with the firefighters which I am always surprised to see from our outgoing lil man.

He also got popcorn, a blue balloon, a balloon that was twisted into a blue fish per his request, and blue cotton candy. As you can imagine, he was delighted and smiling from ear to ear as if to say "What possibly could be next?"

Well, we had stood in a pretty good line for the free photo I.D. from the Sheriff's department but I'm so glad we did. Benjamin was so proud of his I.D. Then we finally got up to the f

ront of the line where he was weighed and measured then he sat for his photo. When he sat for his photo he said "Cheeseburgers!" followed by an obnoxious wide mouth face which is precisely when the photo was snapped. So, after we got his fish balloon creature we went back to pick up his I.D. and there it was... amidst all the content looking kids... our Benjamin's I.D. silly face and all. True to personality.

As we got in the car and were all ready to go I heard Benjamin pipe up "I got to go potty." The dreaded works when we just walked away from the Fire Station (where we would have had easy access to a potty). So, I attempted something we had never done with him before. "See those trees over there Benjamin?" You get the idea. We were in a rather secluded area

where we parked and it worked. Mission accomplished.

We spent a good 2 hours at the Fire Station (it stopped raining after about an hour and a half). It was awesome spending time alone with Benjamin. Spoiling him with my undivided attention and seeing him delight in all the exciting stuff we were able to see and do at the Fire Station.

Then we stopped at the grocery store for a few things. I also took

advantage of having a sitter and walked the dogs before we headed out for dinner at Moe's then to drop our sitter off. The boys truly adore her as does she them. We are so fortunate to have found her!

It turned into a beautiful afternoon and the boys were really enjoying the evening air so we spent a little time in our backyard before heading in for baths. Samuel really enjoys the sandbox and loves to dump the sand right over his head and attempts to dump it over his big brother's head as well. Needless to say, they earned their bath tonight.