Out of Doors

The recent torrential downpours have dropped the temperature here significantly. And, so, we have been outside--and enjoyed it! This, of course, is a revelation because we don't usually like the outdoors--and that's not the royal "we," I'm not a big outdoors-girl myself.

Yesterday, we spent more than four hours--4 HOURS--at a local park with our playgroup. My kiddos weren't at all attracted to the sprinkler garden--they just don't seem to like getting wet, though they certainly enjoyed watching me try it. I figured I needed to set an enthusiastic example and so shucked my shoes and sprinted in. No takers. Oh, well. Points for trying. They much preferred the sand box (actually a volleyball court) and the playground, complete with "pirate ship" and "whale-dolphin" bouncy things.

And then, as we were leaving, they spied some of our group in the swimming pool. We went in to say hello and we stayed for a bit. Then, lo and behold, we swam! I had to borrow suits, though we had the swimmer diapers, and we didn't even have a towel. No matter. Sis particularly enjoyed wading in and playing with someone's crocodile. She was in there for an hour! She only got out because clouds loomed and rain threatened (I was surprised they hadn't actually closed the pool yet). Bud waded in a few times but preferred sitting on the sidelines with a bucket and shovel. Still, he was wet. Definitely promising. So, we'll join the local pool park and go some this summer with our friends.

And we were outside again today. First, we walked to the local deli and got some snacks for a picnic. Nothing healthy--Funions and Skittles for Buddy, Swedish Fish and Baked Lays for Sis, plus juice boxes--but it was a great adventure to WALK to the store across the busy main street (with warnings never, ever to even think about doing it by themselves). Bud was especially incredulous that we could walk to a store. I'm sure I've opened a can of worms--they noticed lots of treats we didn't buy--but that's okay. I remember the people who owned this house reminiscing about walking their kids there; the tradition continues.

Then I hauled the table from the garage (no worries, it's plastic and light), put up the sand table umbrella, and we ate out back. I even have a new technique for preserving the chairs by tipping them against the table (well, it won't help much now--we inherited the chairs and table from the previous owners of the house and it shows). We then filled the bird feeders, played in the water table, played in the sand turtle, played in our own "pirate ship" (the historian in me would like to correct their innocent view of pirates but there is time enough for that. And then I can tell them about the pirate here on Connecticut's coast and also about lady pirates), and finally looked at our garden (see following post).

I hope the weather holds--we're heading to the city this Saturday to go to Ar-Ma and Ar-Gong's beach. Third time's a charm.