Fire Station Part Two

Our last fire station visit ended abruptly with not one, but two emergency calls that sent multiple fire engines roaring off. A friend arranged today's visit several weeks ago, and Jackson has been very eager. He asked about it all morning. This is what he chose to wear.

While his outfit was adorable, I had my doubts that he would actually wear it. Clothing like that creates attention, and that is not something my shy boy wants in public. In fact, he wouldn't even hand the firefighter the plate of cookies we baked for them until we were alone.

In an effort to avoid a repeat of last time, we requested to see the firetrucks first. One was a vintage firetruck that is only used for parades.

The trio were busy looking around, taking in their surroundings.

A particularly attractive firefighter modeled his clothing. (One of Jack's friends brought his fire fighter jacket, too!)

All but one kid cooperated for a group photo, hence the gap in the front where he should be sitting.

After touring the inside of the station and reconvening outside, Jackson decided to put on his jacket. It always takes him some time to warm up to people. As we were leaving, he wanted to know where the firemen's badges were and if they could turn on the lights on the truck.

After the tour we headed to a nearby park to play on the playground. Jack and a friend were more interested in the beach volleyball court.

The babies played. And by played, I mean rearranged pine needles and put mulch in their mouths.

Our park adventures ended when some of the moms with older children left for school pick-up. My four were all in good moods still so we headed to the library to return some very overdue books. All summer we've gone to the library in the mornings when it is overflowing with summer programs and children waiting for story time. Apparently 3:30 pm is the prime time to go to the library. We had the entire kids' area all to ourselves. Jackson put on a puppet show for his siblings. James made it his mission to pull every magnetic letter off of the board. The girls were preoccupied with grabbing books off of the shelves.

Our last week of summer has been full of adventure. Preschool starts next Tuesday, so we'll have new routines to learn. I'm not sure how much I want to go out with the babies vs. with Jackson and the babies. I'm still adjusting the trio's nap time and Maddie just started therapy twice a week. I also don't know how tired Jackson will be after preschool and how much down time he'll require. Next week will be a lot of trial and error.