A weekend in the sun

Ahhhh, the sunshine. Amazing what it does to one's mood. The sun has shone here all weekend. Summer finally feels like it has arrived. I know rain could be around any corner, but for the immediate future, sun is in the forecast. It has enabled us to do lots of great things outside - lots of time out at the park and in the backyard, meals out on the deck, late weekend evenings playing with friends. It has also meant early mornings as the sun is up early, waking the small children. Saturday started at 5:30am! This morning was a bit later after we put towels up on the windows (and kept the kids out late last night).

Saturday was full of activity. After our very early start and attempts to get Schmoo to go BACK to sleep failed, Papa got up with the kids. My attempt to sleep in was somewhat thwarted with frequent visits from both children. 9:00am brought the beginning of soccer for the day. We hung around for the first game on TV and then the restless kids got us out the door. Bean spent lots of the morning practicing his drawing. Papa had shown him how to draw people and he was having a great time drawing bodies and heads. The "people" usually only had one eye, but he even showed me how he had a little arm and a hand. We headed down to the big park for some girl time and boy time. The girls went for a bike ride / walk around the loop while the boys and Airlie went down to the beach to throw rocks and take the dog for a swim. We met back at the playground for a picnic lunch, including french fries from the park's cafe. We saw tons of people that we knew during our outing, both adults and kids. It wasn't long before it was almost 2pm and time to get home for quiet time.

Quiet time was a must on Saturday as we had big plans for the evening. Both kids had a big sleep and I went out for a run in the sun while Papa watched another soccer game. I returned in time for a shower and dinner out on the front deck - our first one of the season! We cleared up and headed down to the park again to see the big steam train that was coming through town. Bean was beside himself with excitement! We saw lots of other families we knew down there and the kids all had a great time running around together. I managed to draw Bean away from the kids for 10 minutes to go up and see the engine and take his picture on the front. We walked back to the car via Dairy Queen - another first of the season. Side note - I'm very proud of myself for waiting until June 14th to have my first DQ, especially since it's been open since April 1st. Let's hope I don't go back to DQ as often as I've been stopping for slurpees lately.

Our car was parked outside Schmoo's friend Z's house so we stopped to pick up a bag of boys clothes they were giving up and ended up staying for an hour to visit. Z was hosting another one of their friends for a sleepover, so all the kids were busy watching Alvin and the Chipmunks when we arrived. We had a nice visit and bundled the kids up for bedtime....a very very late 10:30pm!

Today was Father's Day and another beautiful sunny day. Papa was busy making pancakes for the kids when I got up this morning. They enjoyed them out on the back deck and had fun running around before Schmoo and I headed off for church. Papa and Bean stayed home to watch soccer. Schmoo and I had a great walk down to church and went to the coffee shop to get a piece of banana bread and a granola bar for our walk home. The kids played outside some more before I settled them in for quiet time. Another napping day for both of them. I guess all the running around in the sunshine wears them out. Papa snuck out to pick up some things for dinner, leaving me to snooze on the couch and then read my book out on the front deck.

When the kids got up, Papa took them out to wash the van. An activity that interested Bean more than Schmoo. I used the time to vacuum and tidy the house before making supper for the kids. I knew they wouldn't be in any hurry for bed, so we called up our friends and headed over to the park near their house for a play before bedtime. C & H were VERY excited to see us and the kids had a great time running around. We brought them home for a later bedtime again at 8:30pm. Now we're going to settle in for our dinner and a quiet house.

Bean's potty adventures are up and down. He's been doing great at holding his pee and going in the potty, but still no actual requests to go. He did have an accident this afternoon which required a big clean up. His friend C has given him some potty books which will hopefully help.