Running from the Law: Chocolate Pies & Fireflies

Monday, July 20, 2015

Chocolate Pies & Fireflies

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and EDWARDS®, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #EdwardsPies http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

Summertime, summertime, sum sum summertime!  One of the best things about this summer has been staying up late to introduce Mac to the joy that is catching fireflies.  Growing up in the country forced me to love being outside and it's something I really hope to be able to pass on to my kids.  If you know anything about Mac, you know that there's no denying that he's an outdoor kid. He's wild and adventurous and craves the space and the fresh air (not to mention dirt, rocks and bugs).  Even as an infant, taking him outside was always one thing that would immediately calm him down.  And since he discovered digging for worms last year and catching butterflies this spring we can barely keep him indoors at times.  So, I knew that learning how to catch fireflies this summer was going to be a delight for him!
Over the 4th of July weekend we went camping down on the Current River, my husband's favorite little trout stream.  We rented a cute little cabin, right on the water with a huge open yard, perfect for chasing fireflies.  That night we ate dinner on the front porch and began seeing the tell-tale signs of fireflies in the yard.  As the sun set and it get darker, we quickly realized that we were in a firefly goldmine!  There were millions of them!  The whole yard was glowing with yellow lights and Mac could barely sit through dinner he was so excited.  A net wasn't even needed - there were so many fireflies you could walk right up and easily snatch them out of the air.  You could definitely tell we weren't in the city anymore.  The fireflies in our neighborhood were scarce and quick, but these country fireflies were big and slow and perfect for little hands!  
Mac was in heaven the entire weekend we were camping.  Four days of no napping, fishing with daddy, chasing minnows in the creek, staying up late to catch fireflies with mommy and being outside every waking minute of the day was possibly the highlight of his little life.  He cried when "vacation" was over and has asked us every day since why we don't have a river in our front yard.  However, "vacation" doesn't always feel like a "vacation" anymore for Ryan and I.  Traveling with two small children, a dog and everything you need to eat, live and sleep for 4 days is exhausting.  Not to mention trying to keep up with said small children, entertain them, feed them, and keep them relatively safe while in a new, exciting and hazardous place.  They shouldn't call it "vacation" for parents - they should just call it "parenting in a different (and less convenient) location."  Yes, it was fun, but mom and dad were in desperate need of a real vacation after our vacation was over. 
One of the smartest things we did on vacation was take some frozen pies along with us for quick and easy desserts. After the madness of dinner was over and everyone was fed and happy again, we broke out the highlight of the day - chocolate pie!  Before we left, I went to Wal-Mart and picked up an EDWARDS® HERSHEY’S® Chocolate Crème Pie and Cookies and Crème Pie to bring with us. I knew I wasn't going to feel like making dessert, but definitely wanted to partake in some after-dinner indulgences at the end of the day. These were so much easier than bringing ice cream or popsicles (and so much better too). We chowed down on these in pies with wild abandon! They were cold and creamy, decadent without being heavy - the perfect dessert for those hot summer nights.  Even Mac took a break from fireflies to enjoy some pie.  
Mac went straight for the Cookies & Creme pie (which was fine with me, because I wanted the chocolate one).  I obviously couldn't get it cut fast enough and telling him he couldn't have an entire pie to himself lead to hysterics and the 78th meltdown of the day (did I mention he didn't nap for FOUR days?).   Being three is SO hard.     
Finally (30 seconds later) we got a slice cut for him, which he proceeded to eat straight off the plate with no utensils.  Honestly, I was too tired to protest much at this point and decided to just go with it to avoid another meltdown.  Ugh, threenagers.  I also was secretly cracking up because my favorite scene in "A Christmas Story" is when the mom asks Randy to show her how the piggies eat and lets him shove the food right into his face without utensils (much to the horror and disgust of everyone else at the table).  Yeah, so that happened right before my eyes.  Life imitates art.  Or something.  
I mean, look at that face.  I just do whatever makes him happy.  Anyway, being 36 is hard too, so I helped myself to a giant slice of the Hershey's chocolate pie.  OMG.  So good.  I think I could have eaten the entire pie by myself and passed out on the couch in a heap of happiness.  But alas, more parenting had to be done.  Back to fireflies...
This summer with the kids has been amazing...exhausting, but still amazing.  It seems to have flown by in a whirlwind of sunscreen and swimming trunks, band-aids and basketball, campfires and carnivals, pools and pies, flashlights and fireflies.  Sometimes the long days seem to go on for years and we all crash hard at the end of the day, completely spent and wondering how we'll ever get through tomorrow.  But I know that pretty soon the days will get shorter and the weather will get cold; we'll trade our t-shirts in for jackets, move our toys indoors and miss those warm nights where we were covered in the dirt of the day and the smell of bug spray.  
Yep, there's just something magical about summer nights. 
And chocolate pie.  :)


*If you want pie too, you can save $1.00 on any EDWARDS® Whole Pie by taking advantage of the Walmart EDWARDS Ibotta digital rebate (while supplies last) (messy threenager not included)

19 comments:

  1. Love all of your chasing lightening bug pictures!! You always get the best shots. And I know Current River...I have floated down it a couple of times where you rent the floats and always get an extra for the cooler! :) Not exactly kid friendly though. Good to know about the cabin rental...you may have to send me the info on that, it would be Carter's dream vacation.

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  2. What a fun thing to do. First of all, I seriously love that pie. It's one of my favorites and the fact that you can get it by the slice through the Burger King drive thru window without having to get the kids out of their car seats is just a bonus. My dad actually lives right on the Current River down in Van Buren. This post is making me want to plan a trip to see him. Beautiful pictures of a magical night.

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  3. Love seeing him chasing fireflies! Such a fun summer experience. I honestly haven't seen them around here much this summer. I need to look more, so Cam can catch some. Mac's face eating the pie and his cry face cracked me up. Ha ha!

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  4. Oh my goodness, all those fireflies! As a kid I loved chasing and catching them. I haven't seen a firefly in about 5 years (which coincides perfectly with moving to LA). And, sadly, I don't think Marcus has ever seen a firefly. I'm hoping one of these summers we'll get back to the Midwest and have a night of magically lit little bugs.
    As for the pie? I'll take a slice. I'm lying. I'll take the whole pie.

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  5. Girl, when I was pregnant with Kinsey, I lived on Edwards oreo cream pie!!! So dang good. The pictures of Mac catching fireflies are breathtaking.

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  6. Mac is in his prime out there, that's for sure. & I love that final picture of him with the puppers & the fireflies, a great picture - frame worthy, I think. :)

    Mandie ~ http://badbrewpack.blogspot.com/

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  7. I really want a chocolate pie now. And an oreo one. And then I want to go catch fireflies. SUMMER! :)

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  8. Love all the photos - Boys and bugs are the best:) So sad that you wouldn't let him eat the entire pie:)

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  9. I love this boy post! Exactly what I imagine :)

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  10. Catching fireflies is one of my favorite childhood memories! So neat that you can share this with him! :)

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  11. First off, you are a wonderful photographer! I love the pictures you've taken of Mac adn how clear and crisp they are (mine are usually look I've been chasing after a child, oh wait, that's what I'm doing). Such a fun fourth of july weekend too! And those pies...there goes my diet! I have to check those out and see if they have them in my local store. And yes I can relate to the no naps, Sophie can go either way on not getting a nap.

    liz @ sundays with sophie

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  12. Oh man, I wish we had fireflies. I've seen them once when I was young and we were visiting friends in St.Lou but we don't have them here in CO. What fun pictures (do you shoot manual? av? just curious with the low light, etc., they look good, or do you do a lot of editing?). Looks like a beautiful place, I know what you mean - traveling with littles, oh man. I'm sure it will be such fond and special memories for them though (someday). :)

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  13. Such a fun post. I love all the pictures... especially the pie face ones! Ha!

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  14. Such a fun post. I love all the pictures... especially the pie face ones! Ha!

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  15. Such a fun post. I love all the pictures... especially the pie face ones! Ha!

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  16. Beautiful pictures - I just love seeing Mac's face and how he's thinking about all of this and taking it in. It's just really beautiful. The pie meltdown pictures are hil.ar.ious!! It does look pretty tasty though - I'm with Mac on that one!!

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  17. I simply adored your photos in this post. We don't have fireflies in Colorado but when I was a kid we'd visit family in Wisconsin and seeing the fireflies was simply magical.

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  18. How did you get these firefly pictures?! They are beautiful!! We stayed up the weekend of the 4th to let the boys catch them as well. Mac sounds so much like my first- he was such a fussy baby until you walked outside. I spent most of my time bouncing with him outside on the patio. Your vacation sounds as amazing as a vacation with two young kids can!

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  19. The moments that you were able to capture are priceless - the fireflies and the pie pictures are awesome! Xo, Stephanie

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