Sometimes I ask myself, . . ..

"What the heck was I thinking?" Really - I do. And I would go as far to say I probably ask myself that daily. Do you?? Ever? I need to hear some "yeses" before I even go into the story of how I'm trying to earn Mother of the Year!

Well - last Friday I had this "brilliant" idea to take my kids to some fancy restaurant. And when I say "fancy," I don't mean we had to dress up - I mean a step up from Sonic {or "Old MacDonald's"} - you get me? I thought about this fantastic restaurant in Nashville called The Aquarium. And when I say "fantastic", I don't necessarily mean the food but the atmosphere. It truly is super cool with the massive tank in the center of the restaurant and NO matter where you sit, you have a great view of it.

Lonnie got home from work a smidge early and decided that he should mow the yard {instead of going on to Nashville to have a "fantastic dining experience."} Now, I know you have all seen it, you know the SHOW . . . . . that one that everyone is talking about . . . . . yeah, that's right . . . . "Jon and Kate plus Eight." Now picture how Kate would react . . . . awwww yeah, that's me. "Okay Sgt. Wheeler, mow the yard - that's a great idea!" in the most sarcastic tone I could muster in my accent and not a Pennsylvania one.

Two hours later with a freshly mowed yard {as well as weed eated}, we load everyone up in the grocery getter! It's about 6:15ish - the time we usually eat supper. BUT the kids are cool. They are in a fabulous mood and our expecting one awesome, good time. For some stupid reason, I never thought of calling and making reservations. Probably because it has been that long since I've been anywhere other than Sonic {or "Old MacDonald's"} - but when we got there we were told that there was about a 30 minute wait. No biggie - even though it took as long to park as it did to get there and longer than that to walk through the parking lot . . .

**side note** - For those who possible would not know this - The Aquarium is inside a big mall. A mall that stands where our famous "Opryland Themepark" once stood. They closed the park for some crazy reasons, {the main one being it didn't make any money - whatever, after you bought a hamburger and a drink you paid some joker's salary for the week!} But everyone that grew up with that park has been disappointed immensely that our kids can't enjoy it. Don't get me wrong - I love to shop, but that park was much better than this flippin' mall any day!

Sorry - on with the story!

Anyhoodle, it seriously is about 7:30ish. Still the kids are doing fine. Took some pictures to prove it . . .


I didn't plan it, but Hudson has on a shirt with a shark, Carson has one with a fish, Lawson has one with a crab {that says "cake" under it - haha, so true!} and Em has a . . . well, a pineapple . . . {pineapples kinda remind me of the beach?} But the boys were definitely sporting there aquatic duds.

Hudson

Carson

Emsley

Lawson {yes, he is counting - there's not really a time he doesn't use his numbers. You probably won't believe me, but he is actually adding in this picture and doing a great job!}

They give us one of the vibrating "things" and we sit just outside the restaurant and wait. and wait. and wait. wait a little more. wait. We are still waiting and I tell Lonnie he needs to go check on our seating {it was just a bit ridiculous!} He came back and informed me they said that they "have paged everyone quite some time ago. Sorry, we've noticed some of them not working lately." Hey people, thanks for checking to see if it worked before you gave it us! I love trying to keep my kids contained on this small bench for 45 minutes! And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

By the time we got our food it was close to 9 o,clock. My kids are usually in bed by 9 o'clock. Tonight, they are just eating their supper at 9 o'clock . . . well, actually their eating their ketch-up at 9 o'clock. Because that was the only thing we could get the boys to eat! Now, Em ate - alot. I'm surprised she didn't bust when I picked her up. We seriously, could have ordered 1 kids meal - just 1! Again, I ask myself "What was I thinking?"

I thought I would break the bank and order a salad with my meal - good thing I did, because the kids were totally over our fine dining experience once we got our food - which really wasn't that good. {Uhmmm, good thing they did bring out their food {and ketch-up} with my salad and Lonnie's fried onion-something-or-another appetizer.}

But the kicker of the night had to be when we got the bill - 72 smacks. That's right $72.00. Dollars. Plus there is the tip. So, over 80 smacks for a salad, 1 kids meal, some fried onion-thinga-ma-things, a half of a hamburger, 4 bites of my fish and chips and a bottle of ketch-up {because I took what was left -bottle and all - when I saw the bill! Hey - it was the brand we use at home and I carry a big bag!}

Here are some funny faces Em made when we told her how much the food was . . .

"You said what?"

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Where's the camera?!? I know we have to be getting Punked!"

"Awww man, you know we could have eaten at Sonic {or "Old MacDonald's"} for 8 days in a row - right?"

Lonnie's highlight of the night was how Carson really got into some imaginary play with the cool salt and pepper shakers that were shaped like seahorses. I told Lonnie I remembered that well and that Carson was tapping them together - really hard {AND THEY WERE GLASS.} And he.would.not.stop. Lonnie was sitting right beside him and it was as if he couldn't hear what Carson was doing. After about 45 seconds, I said something to Lonnie under my breath so only HE could hear - he quickly took them away.

The kids really did love the aquarium part! And over all they did really good. But TLC needs to call us before we can afford another meal like that!!


Heaven forbid if we leave Shrek and Donkey at home - obviously they need their vittles too - I was just unaware of it at that time.