Basking and Such

Just a little playing in the pool time.

We caught a shot of Mr. C beneath the water line.

I finally have a cute suit this summer. And it fits and was cheap...always three major advantages in summer bathing attire.

And yes, my sister has the same one...but no, we did not buy them together or even know we were buying them....go figure. What's that saying about great minds thinking alike?

The kids love to stick a bucket on their head and dunk beneath the water, allowing them to breath using the air caught in the overturned bucket. Science in the pool, baby!

He loves flippers. He loves to walk around the deck in flippers. He doesn't love to trip on the deck with flippers....but it happens....a lot.

He also loves the whale flipper. Aunt Mia snapped this one and it makes me giggle...the flipper is huge and the atmosphere is oceany, I feel.

Just a little pool play with Cousin Chubs as Q was napping at the time.

He gave us a cute, snuggly reunion when we were done with our swim.

Check out the chompers...although one was a tad smallish when this photo was snapped

Awwwww...Summer!

I've been thinking...it's all Fun 'N Games when you're a kid...full of:

swimming

goggle lines

Otter Pops

lazy mornings

playing with friends

Otter Pops

an occasional trip to the park

huge creative projects

art projects

library trips

catching up on some reading

no school

family vacations

late nights

late night walks

swimming

etc....

but when you're the mom, it's a bit more labor intensive, including but not limited to:

wet towels

sunscreen residue

clipped tops of Otter Pop wrappers

dribbles of sticky Otter Pop goo throughout the house

sand-filled shoes

sand from shoes dumped into the tub

creative messes (some kid-inspired...some mom-inspired)

clipped tops of Otter Pop wrappers

dribbles of sticky Otter Pop goo throughout the house

wet towels

crusty cereal bowls

somewhat lazier mornings

messy house

questions of "What are we going to do fun todaaaaaay?"

library trips

catching up on some light reading

spending more time with the offspring

late night walks

overtired tantrums

making sure young minds don't turn to mush

remembering which books were checked out at the library

and on and on and on and so forth and forever

It seems I always have two or more armfuls of kids lately. Probably because I have four kids and only two arms. Even considering that, we have been having a good bit of fun this past month...but there is a lot of cleanup involved. I am just coming to terms with the fact that my house will be a mess until school starts again, and even then nothing's guaranteed. And dinners won't be that grand (think cereal). And schedules are crazy. And we fly by the seat of our pants. And some days we make grape jelly all day, while others we drive 1 1/2 hours each way to go to an indoor play park and meet up with some old friends. So if you are planning on visiting during these school-less months, keep the above in mind. Here's a recap in case you forgot. Messy house, un-grand dinners, crazy schedules, flying by pant-seats, grape jelly, and sometimes lots of driving. Got it? Good. Memorize it.