Earlier this week Mike and I took Sophie and one of her bff's to the Firefighters and Police Appreciation Day celebration in a newly-developed area of the city. There was free food for all, a concert, bounce houses for the kids, and lots and lots and lots of testosterone. Which is probably why there was no alchohol served.
Sophie and her bff had a great time, despite the long lines…
I find the little "tail" Sophie makes with her oversized t-shirts (using a rubber band) to be amusing. And while I don't find that particular shirt amusing, it's nice to be able to spot my child from 8 miles away.
The inflatable obstacle courses are a favorite with pretty much any kid…
…and Sophie, being the rambunctious 10-year-old that she is, wound up with an aching back after this tumble:
Her bff, being the extreme girly-girl that she is, descended the slide a little more delicately:
I'm not sure where else in the country they have Godfather's Pizza establishments, but around these parts, the "Godfather" is a fun celebrity to have around (bc he usually has free dessert coupons)…
His "mobster face" cracks me up…
Right across the street from the park was a little shop that caught my eye…
Mike and I sneaked off to check it out, thinking the girls wouldn't give a hoot that we were gone…
We were wrong.
(How did they know where to find us?)
Mike had been eyeballing a raspberry cupcake, and one of the owners (Mr. Bill Jones) took notice. He brought it over for Mike, which I thought was very sweet. While I was thanking him, Mike was gobbling it down.
Once the rapture of the raspberry topping was over, he came to his senses and spoke with another of the owners – Mr. Bill Jones' mom, Elizabeth Jones. She was such a sweet lady, and sat at our table talking to us about tart yogurts (which are out of this world, btw).
The employees were all so nice! The gentleman to the far left (I missed getting him all the way in the photo) is the Senior Mr. Jones, who is also one of the owners. Mike thought he looked awfully familiar, and eventually discovered that he and the Senior Mr. Jones had worked together when Mike was in the OPD's homicide unit. It turns out that Senior Mr. Jones does the OPD's autopsies, which Mike had to attend regularly.
Only in America can one perform autopsies during the day and run a cupcake shop at night. (I wonder if the employees have any clue…)
I was enjoying some of the best coffee I've ever had…
And in the meantime, someone handed Mike a sample of raspberry tart yogurt, which meant he forgot that Mrs. Jones was speaking to him. So she drank her coffee instead…
I just love this photo…
Eventually we returned to the celebration we were supposed to be attending, and had a very enjoyable time. The girls were worn out by the time we left, so Mike stopped at a gas station to get them something to renew their energy. After all, they were getting ready to have a sleepover at our house, so they needed the sugar.
I'm pretty sure Mike was still inside the gas station, waiting for someone to offer him a raspberry ice cream cone.
When he finally returned to the car empty-handed, we headed home.
And that's how the first Firefighters and Police Appreciation Day went. We appreciate you, Mike.
Mike?
Oh nevermind… he's eating something.
11 Comments
Margaret
Looks like a fun day! Now why don’t we have cupcake shops around us? Unfair, I say! Hope the girls had a good sleepover!
Catherine
As usual, it looks like you all had a blast! Good thing there’s not a shop like that around me, I’d probably weigh about 500lbs!
Erin
Looks like you all had a great time! Your comment about being able to spot your daughter in her tie-dye shirt reminded me of something… Whenever we travel, my husband wears his tie-dye shirt. Makes it easy to spot him, that’s for sure, since he is over 6 feet tall and bald…and wearing tie-dye. (One time we were in the Cincinnati airport and we met a family who were all wearing those Cat-in-the-Hat style tall hats, for the same reason!)
Connie Adrian
Another fun outing with your family!! Thanks for the heads up on the cupcake shop!! If it’s where I think it is…………………that would but it about 3 miles awayfrom my house…..which is much to close!! LOL!! I WILL be going there very soon! Thanks Mike for all you do for us!
Elizabeth Graham
I just love appreciation days like that! My husband is in the Navy, so when they have those celebrations we always go and it’s a great sense of community 🙂 Plus my husband loves the free food and there’s something out the older ladies in the towns being so happy to serve them food ALL THE TIME – as if they’re starving every other day of the year! Those cupcakes look absolutely delicious, too!
joann in tx
we can never thank our fire fighters and policemen enough! my neighbor across the street just graduated this january from police academy!
thank you mike and all the other men and women!
wow! looks like a fun time! and that cupcake shop! oh, my! and mike even knew the owner…does that mean mr. jones sr. is the medical examiner?
hope it was a successful sleepover! yeah! what fun!
LLLLLY!!!!
Leslie
What a fun day! We should all appreciate our Firefighters and Policemen who serve us everyday! Sophie – folks in MD would love you shirt. We eat steamed crabs all year round!
Those cupcakes looked wonderfully good!
mary
Looks like everyone had great fun!
Kelly
It is so nice to share in the fun times you & your family have! And, I’m sooooo envious that you have a Godfather’s Pizza place. They are no longer in our area and I love that pizza!
tanya
Looks like such FUN! I still have flashbacks when I see a moonbounce – I lost my favorite barrette in a moonbounce when I was in the 4th grade or so … I can still see myself trying to find the blasted thing and then being bounced somewhere else because someone bounced over to where I was and then it began again … saw barrette in a corner and BOING! there I went … never got the blasted thing. Can you tell I need therapy?
Tanya
Abi
Those cupcakes look amazing. Now my tummy is grumbling. Thanks a lot.