I was a little surprised by how many people were there.  A story was read, empty shells were passed around to touch and pictures were used to compare the feet of swimmers vs. land dwellers too.

The highlight, of course, was when the real live turtle was brought out and allowed to run free between the toddlers.  The time ended with a craft (turtles made from paper plates and tongue depressors).   Good times.

And there is also this fun water pole thing to cool off in when the heat is just too much.

KB was glad to have friends to splash around with.  Nolan is just one day older than KB and a sweet friend.

The next week found us visiting V. Park.  I sat and watched my three year old approach two boys who were sitting on a rocking motorcycle thing like this one (but the one at our park was bigger and had a side car on it).

So she walked up to these boys who were about 8 years old and started to talk to them.  She said two or three sentences and the boys looked at each other, got off the toy, and walked away.  KB climbed up and started to rock.  I was on the phone with my sister trying to imagine what she was saying to them.  Something like, “Hey big boys.  Don’t you think my bouncy curls would look great while I rock on that motorcycle? See me wrinkle my nose and smile at you? Thanks, guys.”

Later I asked her what she said to them and she replied matter-of-factly, “I said, ‘Don’t you want to let me have my turn? You should share and I would like a turn.”  And they got off and walked away! I would have thought that one of them would have said, “We just got on, little baby.  Wait for your turn.”

That day at the park ended abruptly when the sky turned black and the thunder rolled.

For week four we met Coralie and Moriah at S. Park.  It was SO STINKIN’ HOT.  We were only there an hour but that was plenty in that heat.  They didn’t have any kind of water feature but when KB got into the car she was soaking wet from sweat.  It was worth it to be with our Cowan friends.

Week five was this past week.  We played on the church playground one day but I don’t really think that counts.  My parents came for a visit and we did all kinds of fun things but none of them involved being outside in a park while the weather was 100 degrees+.  We’re smart that way.  This week is hot too so maybe we will have to focus our attentions on another park that features water.  Anybody got any ideas?

I have been a bloggin’ slack dawg over the past several weeks.  I don’t know why it has been so hard to get my thoughts out and pictures off the camera. . . maybe it’s because summer school ended and I have had three munchkins running around my feet all day every day.  Maybe.

So, on we go to catch up on things I never posted but want to have on record for future blog books!

Before it got so hot you could fry eggs on our sidewalk, we drew with sidewalk chalk.  Good times.

Friends from our past came to visit friends from our present and we all hung out and broke bread together.  Here are all the children (minus one baby that I was holding for Coralie) ready to dive into dinner:

Here’s everyone – doesn’t it look like Coralie is a lone reed sticking up in the middle? I don’t know why no one moved in closer.

We played with paper bags.  This is Little modeling her evening gown by Aldi.

 And KB’s new cottage – just the right size and very eco friendly.

There have been pony tails:

and poor fashion choices:

Then there have been craft ideas gone terribly wrong.  I thought to myself, “Decorating flip flops – that would be fun!” We used paint pens and before I knew it people were coloring all the surfaces of the shoes.  KB’s feet were different colors daily for over a week.  Poor Choice.

  

That’s a good bit for now.  I don’t have an update to my reading list but I still need to write about Little’s Read Aloud at school and then there’s Turtles, Parks, and Playdates.  If that weren’t enough, we had a major holiday and a visit from my parents! Throw in a few adorable lines from our children and photos of their pretty faces. . . well, you just aren’t going to want to wander too far away.

Several of you have asked about my trip last weekend and it’s so nice of you to care.  I haven’t been avoiding you all, it’s just that I’ve been a little “off” this week and wasn’t really motivated to do anything.  But here I am trying to get back into the swing of things.

As you recall, four friends went away for four days to celebrate four decades.  Here we are in 1989: