Beat of a Different Drum

Today was a work day - but a fun one because we got to head down to Discover Mills to shop for some clothing and props for our upcoming series, "Pridelands." We had this one African shop in mind, and visited there first - you can see here that Madison was enjoying it:

Madison made a new friend in the store - and the two hung out, playing the bongos and getting Daddy to pick them up so they could run their hands through the hanging beads above. Daddy led a great jam session right there in the store, with the three of us beating away on our drums with style! This shop was filled with masks, drums and some clothing as well. In fact, we found a really awesome African outfit for Madison that fits her perfectly. The problem was, we didn't find what we were looking for: outfits for our characters, and materials for the display case and props. It was somewhat of a shock, because we were expecting it and had driven quite a ways to find what we needed.

Still, we did have other plans as well at least. We made our way back to the Bass Pro Shop, which we knew had scheduled some activities for kids. Today's activity was the "Paint a Wiggle Fish" craft. Aunt Shain had told us about it some time ago, so we planned on meeting her and Hannah here today, which we did.

It was nice - and free, of course. They didn't want to use paint (I'm guessing that didn't work out last year), but instead used markers. Hannah made hers into a rainbow trout, which made a lot of sense. Madison's came out looking like a subway in the middle of some graffiti war. I think it was her intent to color the fish all one color (purple), but then Daddy confused her by offering other colors as well. The end result is a "delightful explosion of color streaking across the landscape in hues of brilliance evoking exquisite feelings of wonder and joy." Hey, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

After checking out the crafts, we checked out the large fresh water fish in their aquarium - and then made our way to the shooting gallery, which is something that Mommy and Daddy simply love to do. Don't ask me why, but shooting galleries are so much fun! What made this one even better is that in honor of the kids' day that was going on, they made the gallery free. Of course, Madison was a little too young for it, but that didn't stop Mommy and Daddy from firing away!

Here's the good part: Mommy remembered a few other shops in this mall, one of which is called Earthbound Trading Company. This is where our hermit crabs came from a few years ago. It's also usually a creepy place filled with masks, incense and pictures of Bob Marley. But this visit, it was a little nicer - and as a bonus, they had some really awesome African musical instruments! Jackpot!

THEN, we walked a little further down the mall and happened upon this other shop that was filled with African artifacts, and that is where we located our outfits, and at a good price too. It had suddenly become a successful day.

But it wasn't over yet. Not until we get to visit the Disney Store, anyway. Mommy got some new clothes for Madison with a gift card to "The Children's Place," and then met Daddy and Madison at the Disney Store, where we did a whole lot of really early Christmas shopping. Here it is, June 19th, and we're already doing Christmas shopping! Madison is going to have a good Christmas...

Anyway, soon we came home where Daddy could continue writing for a bit. I got to page twenty of twenty-eight, so things are looking pretty good. After reading to Madison before bed, she fell asleep rather quickly, quite content with her day. Mommy and Daddy watched four more episodes of "The Nanny," and now I'm thinking to myself: "what a full day!"

It ain't over yet. Got to do more work on the booklet. Deadlines loom!