Too Dark for the Park!

Jaden took a long, loooooong nap this afternoon (after staying up way too late for game night last night), and was very excited to go to the park when he woke up, which we had promised to do. But because of the time change, it was already getting dark outside. And by the time we got both boys in the car and ready to go, it was completely dark outside. We drove around town to several of the parks to see if any of them were lit up (and took the opportunity to talk to Jaden about why it's important not to play outside when it is dark); but none of them even had so much as a lamp post nearby. This is where our dilema began - what can we do instead? And nothing was coming to mind! Actually, several things were coming to mind, but none of them even exist in our town. How sad is that! So we had to get creative, and it had to be something that Jaden would enjoy. So... PetSmart, here we come! We pulled into the parking lot and told Jaden that we were going to go see some animals at the pet store, which my preschool brain told me would be a perfect language and learning opportunity! (Oh, and on a funny note, after pulling into the parking lot, I realized I had no shoes on! Jaden thought it was hilarious that mommy forgot her shoes! Luckily Old Navy was right next door, so Sam ran in to get me a pair of their year-round flip flops. I asked him to surprise me with any color - he returned with bright pink! - does he know me or what!). Anyway, Jaden was so excited to go see the animals, and on the way in, he tells us, "I want to see lions and tigers and elephants..." Whoops! I guess I wasn't very clear in my explanation of the kind of animals we were going to see! But he's such an easy going little guy that the thousands of fish, hamsters, birds, and cats completely made his day! Unfortunately, there were no dogs at the pet store, so Jaden took it upon himself to pretend to be a dog while crawling on the floor, barking, and fetching toys in the dog toy aisle, which helped us get the full pet store experience! Thanks Jaden! Fun times!!