Free Ben & Jerry's

Lauren said that just buying a pint of ice cream would be easier than going downtown with four toddlers, finding a parking space, and standing in line for Ben & Jerry's Free Scoop Day. She was so right, but we wouldn't have our crazy story to tell and a semi-fun adventure for the kids. 

We found parking spaces, loaded three kids on my two kid stroller, carried the fourth kid, stood in line, saw a crowd of hipsters, talked to street people, and eventually climbed the three stairs with the stroller to enter Ben & Jerry's. The line went quickly and we were trying to keep the pace. Then, the "I want red ice cream," "but they only have strawberry, is that ok?" deal that I made with one of my kids went south. Everyone had their cones and we were about to leave. I told my child to get off the rigged up stroller to walk down the three steps so I could push the stroller down-that's when my child spotted it: Actual Red Ice Cream that another kid had that I didn't see and didn't get for my child. My child threw an enormous fit because of my ice cream oversight. The child did what I call The Starfish Meltdown. Still sitting on the footstool part of the stroller, my child spread each limb out like a starfish, mouth wide open, and was wailing in despair. That's when Lauren and I lost it in fits of laughter. Strangers stepped in and offered help and I was handing our cones to complete strangers in effort to get the stroller and us down the three stairs and out of the store. Just get us out of the store. Somewhere between the laughter, the help, and a few threats of stop-crying-right-now-or-your-cone-is-going-in-the-trash-can-right-there-see-it-?, we made it out of the crowds. 

 

We set up camp at a faux creek and let the kids play and eat. That's basically the end of the drama. Basically. 



The End.