Fathers Day

So fathers day started out beautiful! The day was bright and clear, the air was warm, not hot and we were ready for a day at the park! Out of the blue the light got dimmer the temperature dropped 5 degrees and the wind started kicking up. The kids had been looking so forward to spending time at the park that we decided to run over real quick and let the kids play before the storm started hammering us. Dad and Shannon said they would meet us at the park later, so off we went.
The park was soo cool! It is an all wooden structure that was designed and put together with the help of area kids. It looks like a castle and it is a bit of a maze as you climb around. There are tons of small areas for kids to climb through and a bridge to go over. There are slides and a tire swing. There are tires buried half way so that the kids can walk over them. There is an area for younger kids that has a school room with no roof but doors and windows, a wooden front of a train and boat that the kids can pretend to drive. They also have a stage set up in the castle that is flanked by theater style benches. Dylan and a little girl he met there started singing and dancing for us. Dylan and Deven had fun being spun on the tire swing. When we had been there awhile and Dad and Shannon had also we went for a walk along a path that borders the Wabash river, or the chocolate river as Deven calls it!
We walked down to Broadway, the main street and crossed the bridge over the river. We had lunch at a hot dog stand, (gross) then went into Marsh's Grocery Store, kind of like Staters but a bit smaller.
We walked back to the park and got into our cars and drove down to the local ice cream shop. Dylan got a mint and chip cone, Deven a Strawberry Cheesecake cone, Tim a peanut butter shake and myself a mint and chip shake. Dad had a wicked looking Sunday, next time I am getting one of those!Shannon got the homemade peach ice cream. By the end of it Tim was eating Devens ice cream, I had Dylan's, Dylan had my shake but wanted Tim's and Deven had Tim's shake but wanted Dylan's ice cream! It felt like musical chairs but with ice cream!
We went home and rested, we had walked a good 2 1/2 miles and it was warm outside. The rain had spitted on us about 45 min after we got to the park and then the clouds departed and the sun emerged! I have a nice tan on my face and chest and Dylan's chipmunk cheeks have a bit of red on the tops of them. I took a nap, every one else lounged around.
When I woke up it was near 5 pm and the boys needed to eat so we decided to go out. We had no idea where to go and it being Sunday a lot of places were closed. We got off track checking out some more of Peru's neighborhoods and decided that taco bell would suffice. When we had left the house the clouds had returned and the temperature had dropped a few degrees but we weren't too worried. As we drove around it was nice to have the windows rolled down and feel the cool air. The clouds had started to roll in really fast so after we ordered we decided to sit in the parking lot and watch the storm.
The clouds were incredible! Huge fluffy clouds that were just rolling on top of each other and the thunder kept getting louder and louder. The lightening wasn't bolts so much as huge bursts of light that brightened the whole sky for a few seconds. The sky was a blue gray that was gorgeous, then it started getting a lighter blue, and its hue started going green.

The rain pounded down all of a sudden and the wind picked up and hammered the van. We told the kids to get back into their seats and got them buckled in and headed back to my dads house. The wind was unbelievable, it was whipping so hard that the trees were bending forward then backward. One of the old buildings on Broadway went up in flames a few months ago and they have leveled the area and are starting to rebuild. Well all the traffic lights were out and we had about 4 cars ahead of us. We stopped right in front of the construction zone and the wind gusted. It sounded like the van was being pelted by buck shot!
The whole drive home was about dodging tree branches that had fallen in the streets and hoping that the billowing clouds and green sky weren't going to produce a tornado. When we got to the house we ran for the door and all 4 of us were soaked by the time we got inside. Dad had towels for us and informed us we had no power. The boys went into the living room and started playing with Isaiah, Shannon's son, and Zachary, his cousin. Tim and I sat on the screened in porch and finished our dinner while the storm raged over head. For awhile the lightening was as loud as the thunder and between the two there was hardly time for a breathe between hits. Trees limbs littered dads back yard and it was a good hour before the power was back on.
Through the whole thing, from the time the rain started to the time the storm had departed was about an hour. It was fast and furious and beautiful and we loved every moment of it!
I think Tim agrees with me, it was a great fathers day, with the perfect ending!!!