Ever have one of those days that takes a complete U-turn from what you originally anticipated? Well, that happened to us. It started out according to plan, with a birthday party for one of Alex's classmates in the morning, then veered off course with an impromptu day trip to Pella.
We strolled around the main square, shopped, stopped for pastries, Pella bologna, and fresh Dutch gouda. Dined al fresco on the grass. Walked around and enjoyed some of the parks, as fresh air was on the agenda with the weather being nearly 70 degrees.
Took the scenic route home through Lake Red Rock, and stopped at the largest observational tower in the Midwest as the sun was getting ready to set. Kids dozing off in the back seats, we contemplated about how easy it is to take an ordinary Saturday and turn it into a wonderful collection of memories that our family will always have.
Kids just have a way of saying it best, though. After his evening bath, I asked Alex if he had a fun day, he enthusiastically said, "Yes!". He talked about the birthday party, the white chocolate pretzels from Jaarsma Bakery, the windmill in the square, the cool "Pella Park" and the big, big tower that we climbed all of those steps to reach the top. I smiled at him and said, "Well, I'd say we squeezed just about every drop out of today that we could!"
He laughed, and without skipping a beat, said, "We squeezed it! We squeezed today!"
Even as someone who took four years of high school Latin, I have to say that "squeeze the day" has a much better ring to it than "carpe diem"! And he was right, we did "squeeze the day"!
