Waking kids up to play with fireflies and watch stars on a summer evening. #kids #space It’s firefly season again! Seems like it takes awhile for it to get dark enough here in Pittsburgh to actually enjoy them. Usually we let the kids stay up about two hours (or more) past their bedtime, but that yields cranky kids. I half-jokingly mentioned to Dave the other day we should wake the kids up in the middle of the night to play with the fireflies, and he went for it!

So before bedtime, I gathered some clothes for the kids to wear outside and put in another room. The kids went to bed at their regular time. About two hours later, we surveyed the weather and firefly situation and woke the kids up! It’s funny trying to explain stuff to kids when they’re half-asleep.

We all went outside with some glow bracelets and ran around for a bit. The girls took some time to figure out what stars and planets were out. I was surprised how nice and clear it was outside. We saw the Big Dipper and then around 9:47pm, I saw what I thought was the ISS (International Space Station) streak across the northern sky. I went to NASA’s Spot the Station site the next morning, and wouldn’t you know it WAS the ISS! Perfect!

We asked the kids the next day if they remembered what they did the night before, and they did! (Didn’t play it off as a dream.) Can not wait to wake the kids up and do this again sometime!

Late Night Firefly Fun!https://i0.wp.com/www.thesugarpixie.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/wpid-img_20140618_084238.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1https://i0.wp.com/www.thesugarpixie.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/wpid-img_20140618_084238.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1thesugarpixieFamilyfirefly,space,summerIt's firefly season again! Seems like it takes awhile for it to get dark enough here in Pittsburgh to actually enjoy them. Usually we let the kids stay up about two hours (or more) past their bedtime, but that yields cranky kids. I half-jokingly mentioned to Dave the...Misadventures and fun in the kitchen and beyond