When It's Hot Outside

It's been hot this week. Really hot. The kind of hot that your hair instantly frizzes when you walk out the door. The kind of hot where your makeup runs when you leave the house. The kind of hot where walking to the mailbox produces a sweaty glimmer on your face. The kind of hot where unless you are swimming, you are not outside!

Since most kids are still in school, we enjoyed a quiet and air conditioned morning at Plaza Fiesta. My previous visits have included multitudes of children scouring the place. Not this time. I think I counted 17 people total. Much more pleasant that the couple of hundred loud and rambunctious and sweaty kids that are usually there.

No waiting in lines. No taking turns. No "I got pushed!" or "That boy is being mean to me!" Nope - just my boys being loud and daring and acting as if they owned the place.

I enjoyed my coffee and scanning Facebook and catching up on blogs via my phone. Normally I'm annoyed with other moms who park themselves on a bench and become engrossed in their phone while their kids run wild. But, I admit, I was that mom this time.

But, I was that mom because I know that next time I come I'll be chasing Annalyse through tunnels and slides and steps. This time, though, she was happy to roll and crawl and scoot on the mats.

We had a PB&J lunch, played some more, and after a tiring two and a half hours of playground fun, finally headed home. While walking out to the car, Grady Lee declared, "It's so hot I can't breathe! I need the clouds to make air conditioning."

Hey - now there's a thought!

We spent another morning staying cool inside with friends - playing with their toys and making a mess at their house. Because seriously, if we're going to chew on things, and if we're going to be loud, and if we're going to dump everything out, it may as well be in the company of friends!

Forget PB&J or Spaghettios. How about a taco buffet? With sixteen kids and eight moms, this was a win for everyone.

I haven't ventured to the pool with all three kids yet. No, I'm not nervous about taking three kids, but I know that once we go the boys will be asking to go all the time. I'm not gung-ho on dragging everyone and everything to the pool everyday between now and September. (Stop calling me a Summertime Grinch.)

So even though it's not nearly as fun, we've spent plenty of time staying cool by splashing in our yard. I was assigned the duty to rate each jump and splash on a scale of one to a million. And in case you're wondering, neither boy scored a million. Not even a 999,999.

In between snacks and jumps, Annalyse got a few splashes in, too. This girl loves the water!

 

You would think that three would be a crowd in a space smaller than a bathtub, but these three sat together for the longest time. The boys used sponges to wash their trucks and Annalyse chewed on an ambulance. I need to get that girl something more feminine... or at least find a pink ambulance.

I remained on high-alert, ready for someone to trip and stub a toe (always happens); ready for someone to whine that "I got water in my eyes!" (always happens); ready for Annalyse to reach for something and topple face first into the water (always happens).

But while my antennae was up and ready for emergency help, I relaxed in the shade with my coffee. I know, hot coffee on a cold day. But I promise, it was good and it was relaxing.