Eclipse!

 It's hard to believe that it's already been almost 7 years since Evie's first eclipse. Time seems to go faster and faster, just as people have told me it would.  I remember that day in August of 2017 thinking how it would be so long until Evie's next eclipse, and here it is!

We started the weekend in Nashville, meeting up with Ryan and family who had flown in from Europe.  Kathy, Rickie, and Tia also came, so we had an even dozen for the weekend.  We started with a trip to the park and then to a trampoline park at Will's request - poor kid had missed all his planned birthday activities because their flight had gotten delayed multiple times, so this was kind of a birthday activity for his 13th birthday.

Will, Tia, and Evie showing off the special socks they had to get at the trampoline park

Ryan, Will, Evie and me at the park

Trampoline park fun

Olivia found this great AirB&B that fit all of us perfectly, so we hung out there for the evening and ordered in Chuy's.

Grannadaddy, Ryan and I went to church Sunday morning and then we all packed up and headed to Indianapolis where the forecast looked the most favorable for Monday.  We had Chuy's again in Indiana, which was Evie's 39th state! 

Sunday evening we did an escape room and then headed to the hotel.  Evie wanted to go swimming but the pool was already closed so she asked to wake up early on Monday.  I can't believe it but we got up at 5:45 am so she could swim when the pool opened at 6.

We left the hotel and headed southwest toward Bloomington which was on the center line and looked to have some good options for viewing.  We tried a few different places before landing on a church in Bloomington that had bathroom access and a nice parking lot we could set up our tent in.

Soon enough it was time for first contact and the eclipse glasses were distributed.  I will never get over how incredible it is to look up and see the moon obscuring the sun, how it creeps so slowly across, but before you know it, the air is cooler, the horizon is darkening, and the animals are thinking day is at an end.

Evie wearing a colander as a hat.  We were able to see the shape of the sun through the holes

We got to experience 4 minutes and 2 second of totality.  Many of us cried.  Evie said to me about 3 minutes in, "Mama, I've always wanted to dance during an eclipse!" and off she skipped into the field and began to do ballet in the grass.  I loved her enthusiasm for expressing herself and getting caught up in the magic of the moment in her own way.

A dozen Kreches, post-totality