My Pappap calls the fast food joint known as Chickfila by a different name. To him it is Chick-a-fill.
Which totally cracks me up. And if you correct him, he will tell you “that’s what I said”. Love it.
He also calls KFC “Colonel’s Chicken”….I have no idea why…he explained it to me once but it still doesn’t make a lot of sense.
So all that to say – we crossed off a ‘Summer List’ item and went to Chickfila’s Appreciation Day and got some free chicken.
I take this very seriously. To me, it is like Halloween in July. Except easier. Because I don’t have to worry about ‘what I’ll be’….the decision paralysis is gone….in it’s place is the freedom to hotglue spots of black felt to a onesie and break out my own cow-print skirt (I keep the thing simply for this national holiday) and get giddy about free sandwiches.
We actually did it last year too as a family (here’s that oldie but goodie photo):
Aww – little Will in the heat of the Georgia Summer in a fleece sleeper….I’m lucky if this kid gets to four without suffering heat exhaustion. Parent of the day award goes to me.
ANYHOO….Once we arrived and scored our free meals, we sat down to eat. Yes, I am the parent that let’s Will eat directly off the counter. I gave up when I saw him eating food off our shoes one day.
We sat down to eat and Will spotted the giant cow from across the room.
After that, the meal was over.
Will literally just followed the cows around. I truly believe that at one point he thought he was kin to this giant creature.
He also discovered the other two cows in the restuarant and wanted to be right next to them at all times. Not held, mind you…because big cows shouldn’t hold little cows…at least that is how his little mind works.
Oh and did I mention that our friends and family met us at the Chickfila? Yeah – the little star of the show was Maggie – who came complete with horns. Will only had monster boots on…which looked like a manly hoof…but next year, I’ll have to wrangle up some horns.
We took a bunch of photos – weird I know. It’s just fast food…
But my absolute favorite part of the day – besides free eating…was when Will ran back to give the cow a hug.
I’m tellin ya, he thinks he’s a long lost relative. Probably because I made him wear that sleeper so much last year…as you can see here, and here, oh and here…plus I threw him a barnyard party…if he starts eating grass and mooing, we’ll know why.
NO way! my grandpa also calls it chickafill too. and makes us laugh every time. he’s very serious about it too and is convinced he is saying it right.
love the cow costumes. will makes an adorable cow.
Too cute! We went to cow appreciation day too on accident, however we didn’t know we were supposed to dress like cows so we paid for our meal. Next year though. Also, my husband laughs at me because I call it ‘Chicken ina bisicuit’ instead of chicken biscuit. I still think my name is perfectly acceptable.
Haha! I had no idea they did this!
I love the picture of Will hugging the cow. So sweet.
Hi Katie- I just bought my first DSLR camera and I am kinda terrified to bring the thing out in the public! It was such a big purchase for me that I am afraid of something happening to it- like when you first have a baby and you don’t go out in public for the first few weeks in case some stranger sneezes/touches/looks at your baby. How do you carry around your camera to all the everyday places you go? Do you put it in a bag…use the camera strap…or should I get over it and just throw it in my purse?? EEEK.
I love your blog (shhhh, don’t tell the others…its actually my favorite) and have at times forced my husband to look at/read your updates- he doesn’t understand the whole blog thing- but he thinks you are a great designer!! And he does not impress easily.
Thanks for you input!
I have a camera bag that also doubles as my purse…but yeah…it is hard to bring out the new baby sometimes 🙂 And get used to wearing the camera strap (I use a neck strap)…it will make the camera a little more accessible when it comes to taking photos (which is the whole point, right!?)
xo – kb
Will is just such a cutesey-pootsey! Love those pictures of him with the cows!!
🙂 Fun day! Can’t believe your little guy loved the cows so much.
BTW-My Dad calls it that, too. And says “that’s what I said” just like your grandad. We live in the burbs of Chicago where there are currently no Chick-fil-as but my husband is super stoked that they are actually opening a Chick-fil-a in our hometown!
I think Chick-fil-a should be considered its own food group. I could eat there every. day. My fiance knows that I will ALWAYS say yes to them.
Oh, and we’re totally having their sweet tea at our wedding (18 days!!!). In mason jars.
He might not yet realize what he’s getting himself into by marrying a southern girl.
Lol…I have relatives that would argue that it is way more than fast food. I swear my dad would eat there every.single.day if he could. As it stands, he is usually good for at least 5 out of 7 days. My mom kind of insists he eat with her on the Saturday and, of course, they are closed on Sunday. Mom has been know to indulge the man though and let him go 6 for 6 in a given week. Easy on us though because we always know what to get him for a last minute gift!
I have to admit that I let out an audible “awwww” when I saw the picture of Will hugging the cow. My co-workers shot me some interesting looks but that is just so darn cute!
Chick-fil-a is definitely one of the reasons I’ll never move above the Mason-Dixon. I’m pushing being so far north as it is because they aren’t as prevalent.
This cracked me up!
Our local one had us dress our dog up and both parents got free chicken so we did! My sweet dog was thrilled for the dog treats despite the fact that I had him wearing clothes in 100 degree weather so his mom could get free dinner!
This was probably the cutest post I’ve ever seen. Those pictures of Will and the cows…I die, so adorable!
The last photo slays me, so cute! We wrapped ourselves in tinfoil once to get free burritos at Chipotle, all in the name of free fast food!
I wish we had a chikfila around us!!! I was tellin my husband that the next time we see one we HAVE to stop so I can see what the whole hype is about(and then Ill have to blog bout it…haha!)!!! I love the picture of Will looking up and just staring at the cow………too cute!! It’s great that he isn’t scared and is willing to give hugs and follow them around!! I’ve always told my family that once I have kids and they get to the age where everything is “real” to them that we are packing up our bags and going to Disney so that I can see their sweet lit up faces……..OR we can just go to chikfila……haha same difference right?!?! Oh and I love that your keepin it real and blogging about the little stuff (like that sayin goes the little stuff will some day be the big stuff) and thats what keeps me coming back for more!! Just can’t get nuff of you and your adorable family!! ~Joanna
That Will makes an awfully cute little cow! Shame on me for not doing this with my boys, they would have had a blast.
I can’t remember how this came to be, but we always call KFC ‘Colonel Chicken’ too! It was some kind of joke and the name stuck.
Love all your cow outfits and you look so pretty.
My Uncle used to call TGI Friday’s (where I worked for a few years in college) TGI Friendly’s. And my Grandmother called Applebee’s Allenbee’s. ;p I love those memories and I call those restaurants the wrong names now, too. 🙂
awww that last picture just melts my heart! It truly is the little moments are the best memories we could ever have!
WHAT!?!? How did I not know about this?! I need to google that pronto!
xo – kb
I used to call it that too! Then my fiance graciously reminded me that fila = filet of a chicken. Ever since then… I pronounce it right.
We don’t have on here in Nebraska and I miss eating there!
My son wanted Chick-fil-A that evening for dinner, and we didn’t know why the parking lot was so full. When we got in the restaurant, we figured out why! Unlike you, we were unaware of the national holiday! 😉 Due to our lack of preparednesss, we had to pay full price for our food — the horror!
You wanna know what’s funny? I actually thought of you when I was there because of Will wearing his cow clothes in your Nate Berkus package! lol
xo
oh my gosh I have been dying for some “chick a fill”!! so cute! I wish I would have known about national chick fila day! I would have been dressed up in a heart beat
This is too cute! I love that you guys got dressed for this. And I can’t even handle how much Will loves those cows.
I pronounce almost the same way as your Pappap. Except I say “Chick-Fill-A” (instead of “Chick Fillet”). Don’t know why, but it’s gone on for long enough that I can’t correct myself.
Aww, the pictures are too cute…especially the last one! I went to Chick-fil-A on this day, but had NO idea I could’ve received free food if I had dressed up until I had already bought my food. I can’t wait for next year! 🙂
I’ve never even heard of this for Chickfila! I always hear about the one for Chipotle where everyone wraps themselves in aluminum foil, but this looks much more fun! And what a cutie Will was with the cows. Beware taking him to Disney World – he’d have to stop and hug all the characters and there are a LOT of them! 🙂
Hi Katie,
I loved this article on motherhood and thought you would too: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-is-a-calling-and-where-your-children-rank
Happy day!
Kim
I was at Chick-fil-a (in Delaware, of course) that day! I’ve heard of the dress like a cow promo, but I didn’t realize it was such a big deal with families until I got to the restaurant. I’m just happy we have Chick-fil-a up here these days. It used to be a novelty and we could only find them every now and then (in mall food courts only). Now we have stand-alone resturants like they do down south!
I just wish I had known in advance! I love Chick-fil-a and I’d dress up for it!
Do you ever get their breakfast? I love their Chick-n-minis and those cute little hash browns! Mmmm…. okay, now I’m hungry.
Oh my goodness, too cute! I am glad Will is not afraid of characters. I was terrified of dressed up characters as a kid (and sometimes I still am!). I should introduce Kate to characters soon, so she doesn’t end up crying and running away from characters like her mom 😉
Will is super cute! By the way, Kentucky Fried Chicken (now known as KFC) was started by Colonel Sanders, who used to appear in the commercials. (older guy with a white beard — sometimes there’s a commercial now with a cartoon version, so I’m guessing he’s passed away.)
This is great!! I love Chickfilla! Too bad we don’t have any anywhere near us 🙁
Will is such a cutie pie 🙂
“I gave up when I saw him eating food off our shoes one day. ” OMG hilarious. This is us. Our baby is 14 months old and he will go out of his way to eat something in the most unhygenic way possible. I think he’s trying to make me look like an unfit mother.
How fun! How did I miss free chicken? Free food tastes better, don’t you think?
It much easier to have kids eat off of the table- I totally agree. I don’t know if you’ve seen these but they are a-mazing: http://www.tabletopper.com. I have something similar that I picked up at my local wholesaler- such a lifesaver!
🙂
So cute! We don’t have a place like that in the city I live. Looks so fun though! And that last pic of Will hugging th cow – ADORABLE!
I knew all this too. (I actually worked at KFC in high school.) I am feeling very old because I’m wondering if the people who don’t know about the Colonel are way younger than me. ? *sigh*
Dress as a Cow for free food at Chickfila SHOULD be a National holiday. =) Absolutely love that last pic of Will hugging the cow. We also dressed up for our free food too.
Hahaha…my grammy used to call it Chick-a-fill too (and also had no idea she was saying it incorrectly!).
Hey Katie! I sent you an email with a special invite! Check it out 🙂
Cute post! I love how brave Will is, my nephew is terrified of anything in costume!
haha! We don’t have chickalaid restaurants here so I was really wondering why you and Will were dressed up like cows! I thought it might be some sort of crazy family tradition 🙂 Then I read more and I saw the light! Totally with you on the “eating food off tables” thing. Pretty much how I feel about having my daughter wear shoes. After 3 lost shoes at the grocery store, I threw caution to the wind, rebeled and GASP….started having her in the cart barefoot! One comment each shopping trip, and a nice mental flipping them off (all in christian love of course).
O.M.G. What a cute post! Awww, too bad I didn’t know about this earlier. It would have been fun to try and convince my two kids (14 & 9) to dress up as cows for free food! ;0)
Will is too adorable and girl, you are rockin’ that cow print skirt!!! LOVE IT!
Will is so cute! I love the last picture of him hugging the cow! 🙂 They’re building a Chick-fil-a by my house and it’s about time because I’ve never had it before!
That’s great! The closest one we have is almost 2 hours away. It was pretty yummy when I went there a month or so ago. I love the cow outfit! I dressed as one a few years ago for Halloween. 🙂
okay this post totally cracked me up!! we heart cfa as well and will melted my heart with his cow adoration! ca-utie! i just discovered your blog and you and your adorable fam are just darling!
LOVE the last picture!! Priceless. Good catch 🙂
Oh my goodness, we need a day like this in Australia. Too cute!!
NO LIE my mother calls Chik-Fil-A chikafill too!!! Cracks me up every time!
OK, so my take on the Colonel Chicken is that back-in-the-day before acronyms became cool, KFC was actually Kentucky Fried Chicken brought to us proudly by Colonel Sanders. He was the poster boy for it. It’s his famous 11 herbs & spices apparently. So it makes sense that to differentiate between all the chicken food places, KFC became the Colonel’s chicken. I just wanted to take that trip down memory lane, since being only 6yrs older than Katie apparently makes me so old I remember the Colonel & you don’t. 🙁 Love this post, the fact “it’s just fast food” makes it so entertaining. In Australia we don’t have anything like this (I know you’re shocked! he he) except good old McHappy Day. You have that at McDonalds right?
Oh Cindy, I’m with you. Read my comment closer to the top!
I totally called it “chick-a-fill-a” for about 3 months before a very “loving” cousin corrected me. I feel for your grandfather 😉
LOVE the hug picture!
Too funny! We love Chickfila too. That last picture is the cutest thing I’ve seen all day…and my own kid is pretty stinking cute so that saying a lot 🙂 You guys look like you had a blast.
I used to laugh at the way my parents would mangle the names of restaurants, celebrities, and other things…now I hear my 16-year-old laughing at me when I do the same thing *sigh*…I feel old 🙂
I learned two summers ago that it wasn’t Chick-a-fill-a and not even Chick-fill-ah. It’s like Chick-fillet or something. We don’t have any of them around here so my Texas cousins shared that knowledge.
Hehe, I call it chick-a-fil too.
Good news for you! They just opened a Chick-fil-a in Chicago last month. My mom was STOKED!
30 E Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
If only Chick-fil-a didn’t actively pursue anti-gay legislation, they’d be the best fast food joint in the world. Unfortunately, their hate-mongering ways are merely disgusting.
Love it. Y’all looked great and Will is so adorable. My grandparents are from Mexico and my grandmother calls the beach, well um can you guess? 🙂
Not going to post my comment? Do you not want your readers to know about who Chick-fil-a really is? Or maybe you agree with them?
This was the sweetest post I’ve read in a while. I think it’s so cute how you guys made a fun day of this and Will’s fascination with cows is adorable! Like my sister says – it’s so cute I want to die!
i had never hear of this. those pictures of Will are too cute, especially the one of him as a baby. you really had me cracking up in this post when i first saw the picture of your cow print skirt. where on earth did you get that? 🙂
love the felt cow spots, perfect for halloween. what a fun little activity y’all had.
Hey Katie! I actually am lucky enough to work at Chick-fil-A (or Chick-a-fill, or “Chicken-fil-uh,” as many of the customers call it)! I’ve read your blog for about a month or so-thanks to those YHL Petersiks-, but this is the first time I have commented. Anyway, just dropping by to say you guys are awesome, and I love reading about your sweet family. 🙂
I’ve had that cow print skirt for a long time…I think it was a goodwill find. In fact, I even took it apart the year I was sporting the post-prego body to add the denim panels on the side…it helps to have a little room when you feel like a stuffed sausage inside your skin!
xo – kb
Sorry Bob…sometimes getting around to approving comments is a chore in between the hours of hot summer fun! And if you are asking my personal opinion…I believe in loving people…no matter what they believe or how they live. I don’t have to agree with their choices to show them love. And I do not agree with your comments about Chickfila being hate-mongering…and I think tolerance is a word that people use when it is convenient to them. Sad but true.
If you want to discuss this further, I’d be happy to but this isn’t the forum to do that…so feel free to email me!
xo – kb
Holy Cow! (Get it?) My Nanny – that would be grandmother, as we weren’t a rich nanny-having family – called it Chick-A-Fil too! We could so hook up your Pappap and my Nanny, except my Nanny passed away a few years back, so she isn’t the most entertaining date. Who knew?
Ha! There’s a scene in the movie “Mr. Mom” where Terry Garr says they are having “Colonel’s Chicken” for dinner. They must have had an old ad campaign that called it that, but it confused the hell out of me when I was a kid.
This showed up as a post at the bottom of your most recent one. Somehow I missed it back in 2011, but I just had to comment that my Mimi called it Chick-a-fill too! So now, my mom & I sometimes call it that too. It just makes me smile! Also, these pictures of Will are the cutest! All of your boys are adorable!