Are you tired of seeing this picture yet?  I’m getting tired of posting it.

After being snowed out last weekend, we are on again for this weekend to attempt our first camping trip since having the boys! 

Well almost on again.  Unfortunately, Joe hit a snag with work, and won’t be able to get off work until later in the afternoon Friday- several hours after we were planning on going. 

I have decided to brave the drive by myself and take the boys anyway.  I am not dumb brave enough to go camping all by myself with two small boys, but my dad, Papa Dan, to the boys will be there.  Joe is going to join us on Saturday.

The boys are already so excited. They want to run in the woods, eat marshmallows, and howl at the moon, with Papa Dan (my dad is a bit of a nut!)

The forecast is calling for hot and dry weather in the city, so it should be cooler in the mountains, and there is no snow in the forecast.  Yay!

Now if  I can just manage to pack an entire car up with our food and supplies, and be on the road by 3 tomorrow- I’ll be all set.  My friend Amy, told me to howl at the moon too, so there will be a lot of howling.

I’ll be back blogging next week, with hopefully some exciting news.  Have a nice end-of summer weekend!

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You can read Part I of this post here. 

After eating dinner at my in-laws, I was planing on going to the garden and giving it some extra TLC.  As we started eating, the wind was picking up and the clouds were getting darker and darker.  It started raining, really hard- harder than it had rained in a long time.

As I was helping my mother in law clear dishes after we were finished eating, I noticed from her window, which faces north, a massive, and I mean massive cloud.  It covered the entire horizon, and it was shaping up to be a perfect funnel cloud.

About that time, Joe brought the boys in from outside on the covered patio.  He was looking at the massive clouds forming as well. The wind was picking up, and it was still raining very hard.

We turned the news on, and they said there was a tornado warning, for the next county over.  We relaxed a bit, and left the TV on while we were talking.  The boys were playing an a few minutes later, I heard some wailing like a siren.  I thought it was the boys, who imitate police and fire engine sirens all the time.

A moment later it struck me- our city projects siren warnings in the case of a tornado watch!  I asked everyone if that was the sirens going.  We turned off the TV, and the boys were quiet.  We heard the sirens issuing the warning that we were under a tornado warning!

We turned the news back on, and they had issued a tornado warning now for our county.  The wind was really strong, and the rain had not let up.  The sirens continued for about fifteen minutes.  When our county’s tornado watch was cancelled we decided to go home.  I told Joe I was going to stop off over at Amy’s before I came home.

It was still raning really hard when I arrived at Amy’s.  I pretty much figured the wind and heavy rain probably did some more damage to the garden.  Unfortunately I was right.  The tomato cages had completely come out of the ground, and all the tomato plants were toppled over. 

One of the really large sunflowers, had toppled over across the tomato plants, breaking off numerous limbs and fruit on the tomatoes.  Between the wind, the tomatoes toppling, and the sunflower hitting them, there was a lot of damage.

I wanted to get the tomatoes back in their cages, so some of the limbs were supported.  I braved the mud and the rain, and since the ground was so wet, the cages went back in, but it was a bit tricky trying to get the plants back in the cages, without breaking more branches.  I did the best I could, and went home.

I was so mad all this was happening.  What were the chances that while I was garden sitting, there would be an infestation of bugs, and then when everything was getting better, a storm producing a tornado watch, would whip through?  In all my years of tending to a garden, nothing like this had ever happened to me before- why did it have to happen when I was in charge of someone else’s garden?

At least there wasn’t any hail, I thought, and then immediately knocked on wood. 

I wanted to get over to the garden one last time before Amy came home on Saturday to clean up a bit.  Friday it was raining, so I didn’t think I would be able to go, but it stopped raining.  I tried to anchor the tomato cages in more, and cleaned up more debris.  I also applied another layer of the diatomaceous earth to the garden.

As I was cleaning up, I discovered two giant zucchini’s.  I hadn’t seen them the entire time.  It gave me a good feeling that despite the stress the garden had been under, it was still managing to produce, and continue on. 

I picked the zucchini’s and left them for Amy.  I hoped she would be happy to see them, and hoped she wouldn’t be too sad about the way her garden looked.  Later that night it started raining again, in effect, washing away all of the diatomaceous earth. 

Amy told me when she arrived back home that the garden wasn’t as bad as she had thought.  She was either being very nice, or I perceived it to be worse than she was.  She told me she had found some squash too, so I was very happy to hear that. 

Depite everything that happened to the garden, during those two weeks, I did enjoy myself and enjoyed taking care of the garden.  I loved finding the produce- it was like a little reassurance that despite all the problems, it would continue on- kind of like a metaphor for life itself. 

That is why I like gardening, and growing things.  It reminds me that there is a pattern and order to life, and even though at times, it seems like the problems can be overwhelming, order will always emerge again, and things will be OK.  Every now and then I need to be reminded of this.  

I don’t know if I will be asked to garden sit again, but what are the chances of something like this happening two years in a row?  Knock on wood.

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I have been gardening more or less ever since I was six- helping my mother in her her huge vegetable gardens in the summer.  I can’t really remember a time when I haven’t been growing something. 

Some years I haven’t had a full-fledged garden, but always had flowers, or tomato plants, or something growing.  I would never claim to be a gardening expert (I’m not), but I enjoy it and can tell the difference between a plant and a weed on most days.  A few years ago, I even participated in a community garden plot with some of my friends, and to my surprise, I was able to pass down a few gardening hints here and there.

So when my good friend, Amy at Crunchy Domestic Goddess, asked me to garden sit her garden for two weeks while she was on vacation, at the end of July/beginning of August, I jumped at the chance.  Amy’s garden was just the perfect size-not too big, not too small.  Amy had tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash, strawberries, some herbs, a cucumber plant, some beans, and some sunflowers in her garden. 

Due to a few reasons, I didn’t plant a garden myself this summer, so I was really excited to have a few weeks where I could garden!

Amy left town on a Saturday, so I went over on Monday evening for my first time. The garden was beautiful.  Tall tomato plants, with tons of green-just-turning-to red-tomatoes, and strawberries.  There were a few nice yellow pear tomatoes just getting ready to turn.  Everything was green, with no signs of weeds, pests, or any other problems.

Despite it being record heat, I felt confident on my way over for my next visit on Thursday.  I had watered deeply and didn’t want to over water, so I felt my timing would be right on.

Imagine my shock as I slid open the patio door, overlooking the garden, and discovered all the tomato plants top leaves had been eaten!  I could see the bug bites through the door, and saw the sunflower leaves had huge chunks of them gone! Upon further inspection, Amy’s garden was being attacked by insects.  The only thing that didn’t have major bug bites on its leaves were the strawberries, cucumber, and the beans.   

I immediatly thought tomato worms for the tomatoes, but the bites weren’t very large, but there were hundreds of them in the leaves.  I didn’t see any tomato worms on the plants, and didn’t see their droppings.  I searched high and low for signs of what was eating the garden.  I saw an earwig and an ant, but I knew they couldn’t do that kind of damage in just two days. 

Amy’s garden is organic, so I was not about to put anything on it without her permission, but I was stumped.  At the rate this was going, Amy would not have a garden when she came home.  I wish I had taken pictures, but I was really shocked.  I had never seen anything like this before.

After consulting with Amy and our other friend, Julie (who is a master and an organic gardener), Julie said it had been a bad year for pests and recommended some diatomaceous earth, to kill the insects.  She was a lot calmer than I, and seemed to think everything would be OK, and balance out.

I headed out the nursery for some diatomaceous earth, and applied a layer of it over the entire garden Friday evening.  The insects had continued eating, and had started in on the beans, and basil.   I really hoped the earth was going to help, because I was not feeling optimistic about the garden. 

We still had record heat the next few days- until Wednesday- so I went over almost every night to water, and monitor the insect situation.  Happily, Julie was right.  The earth seemed to be working, and it didn’t appear like the plants had sustained any further damage.

The tomatoes were staring to grow new leaves, and I was confident that Amy would still have a pretty nice garden to come home to.  The only thing that concered me was the diatomaceous earth washed away every time it got wet, and we were getting some rain showers at night.  Julie said it eventually washes away, so I figured every other day re-applying the earth would be OK.

On the Wednesday evening (3 days before Amy was due back), I was at my in-laws house after work having dinner.  The heat seemed to have broke, clouds were moving in, as well as a breeze and it felt great.  I was looking forward to going over to the garden that evening and working in the cool air, giving it some exra TLC. 

At the time, I could not have imagined what was in store for me a few hours later, and sadly for the garden.

Stay tuned for Part II

gardening

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We are going camping this weekend on what is shaping up to be our only vacation/getaway of the summer.  We thought we would be moving this summer, so we didn’t plan any vacations, and boy can I feel it. 

I feel like I am in a rut and need a change of scenery.  My dad arranged a family camping trip this weekend, and I couldn’t be more excited.  I feel like I am going away for a week instead of a couple days.  The boys are super excited as well, and can’t wait for s’mores the camp fire, and sleeping in a tent.

I am off to the stores to get everything we need for our 2 day/2 night camping trip.  I wish we were going for a bit longer, but on the plus side, at least I don’t have to pack two weeks worth of clothes and other necessities for the family.

In other news I have been riding my bike almost every night, and am really enjoying the exercise. Joe got the part needed to fix our bike trailer so he and the boys can start going with me.  We got Cole a bike yesterday- he just has to keep up with Ryan.  He cried every time Ryan got on his bike, and he didn’t have a bike to ride.

Finally, I am completely into the Olympics.  I am loving Michael Phelps and Dara Torres (the 41-year old mother, who is in her fifth Olympics), and gymnastics.  Fortunately I have been able to get some tagging done for a consignment sale while watching the Olympics.  You’ll have to forgive me if my blog posts are lacking this week.  If there are no posts, you’ll know I’m doing my part in supporting the US Olympic team! 

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On Saturday I got to go white water rafting with my dad, sister, brother, and their spouses.  We originally thought my dad’s wife was going to go, but she was having some back pain and decided not to go on Saturday morning.

I live in the west, and we are fortunate to have some wonderful rafting spots about two hours away.  This year was almost a record year for river depth, and even though the water had receded some, it was still pretty high.

My dad has a friend, Dan, who is around mine and my siblings ages, and he is a trained white water rafting guide.  He works as a professional guide, and even has his own raft.  He was not working on Saturday and he graciously offered to take us all rafting in his own raft for a private trip. 

In order for me to be at my sister’s house, “in the big city” by 7AM, I got myself out of bed at 4:45AM, Saturday morning.  I kissed my sleeping babies good-bye, but I was really excited to be going.  Initially I didn’t think I could go, because Joe had planned something with the boys, but it fell through.  He was wonderful and told me to go, and he’d watch the boys all day. 

We hit the road and after we got to the town, met up with Dan, waited while him and my dad drove their trucks down to our ending spot (so we’d have a way back up the river when we were done), did a safety check, and got a safety lesson (which turned out to be crucial), we were on the river by 11AM.

It was spectacular.  It was hot out- probably in the upper 90’s.  The water was ice cold, but it felt good, because by that point we were all dying of the heat.  There was a view of the canyon that you just can’t see from the road.  We noticed some clouds starting to build, but it seemed like we were about 15 minutes ahead of them, and even though at one point it was cloudy, we had the sun out the entire time. 

According to Dan, we were pretty much in class II and class III rapids most of the time.  Especially during the first part of the trip.  It seemed like our group quickly figured out all the rowing in sync, and were off to a good start. 

About an hour and a half into the trip, we finally hit some major white water.  I think this would be a class IV rapid.  We heard Dan yelling at us from the back of the boat, “forward, forward!”  We hit the rapid and it was thrilling!  I was sitting on the right side of the raft, and felt myself jerk as we hit the rapid head on.  I don’t know if it was instinct or Dan’s instructions to us before we started kick in, but I leaned into the boat, and dug my foot in as tight as I could into the holder for my foot.

Then I saw a wall of white water hit us. It hit the raft on the left side, completely covering my sister, Mara, her husband, Kevin, and my dad.  Then to my horror, I saw Mara, flip backwards and out of the boat.  It looked like she hit her head on a rock!

Mara shattered her knee cap 12 years ago in a rafting accident on this exact river.  I was so scared that she had hit her head or had hit her knee again.  I heard Dan yell, “Mara!”  We all realized at about that moment that Mara had fallen out, and what was worse, we couldn’t see her at all.  She was being held down under water somewhere, even with her life jacket on. 

The rapid carried our raft out of the area where Mara fell, and even though Dan had instructed all of us to try to grab the raft if we fell out, as soon as Mara’s head popped out of the current, we were too far away for her to try to grab the raft.  She was too far away from us to try to extend a paddle to her as well. The rest of us in the raft, just froze for a few seconds.  It was really surreal.  I could see Mara’s head going under water, and then back up.  None of us knew if she had hit her head, or her knee or what. 

I felt myself getting really scared and nervous.  I wanted to get out and help her, but I knew that would not be the thing to do.  I forced myself to listen to Dan, who started yelling commands at the rest of us.  I knew listening to what he was telling us was the best and only way to help Mara.  We had to get the boat out of the rapid, and to the side, so we could grab Mara when she came by us.

Dan expertly got us to the shore in a matter of moments.  We had a few moments where we could watch Mara, and she was doing exactly what Dan had told us to do when he was going over safety instructions.  He said to never point your head downstream, because you risk hitting your head on the rocks.  He said to sit up, keep your legs together, bend your knees, and point your legs downstream. Mara was doing just this, and was keeping her head above the water for the most part.  She was doing great!

When Mara got closer to us, Dan threw Mara his rope line, and was able to pull her out of the rapid to the raft.  Kevin and my brother, Jeff, were then able to pull her back into the raft.

Fortunately, she was not hurt-only shaken up a bit. She said it was horrifying and it was like being in a washing machine.  Dan said most of the time if someone falls out, the raft is there for them to grab on to.  But since ours wasn’t, Mara ended up with the ride of her life.  (Keep reading to the end for pictures of this!)

She lost her expensive sunglasses, but we were all so happy she didn’t have any injuries.  After we took a short break we were ready to hit the water again.

While we didn’t have another rapid quite as exciting as our first rapid, we still had a blast.  We stopped for lunch a little while later.  The spot Dan really wanted us to go to was already taken, but we ended up at a place that had a rock about 15 feet up, where you could jump off of, into the river.

After we ate, we contemplated the jump.  At first I didn’t think I was going to do it.  After watching some people from other raft trips though,  I decided if they could do it, I could too.  The clincher was when my dad made his way over to the cliff to give it a shot.

I was nervous.  It looked a lot more scarier standing on top of this rock, looking down into the river in person.  Mara went first, and she told me the last few seconds were the worst.  So, I said it was now or never, and took the plunge!

The water was freezing as I hit, and the force of the jump pushed water into my nose, but it was so fun and exhilarating.  We decided to do it again. 

Dan and Jeff, were waiting for the rafters who took our lunch spot to come by, and when they did, they jumped in.  Unfortunately, they didn’t get them very wet, but came pretty close.

I jumped again, trying to hold my nose this time, but I still got water up my nose.  I didn’t care- it had been ages, since I did something like this. 

We cleaned up from lunch, gathered our stuff up, and went back on the river.  We were on for another two hours, had a blast with some more rapids, and then our trip was done.  I was so sad it was over.  I felt like I could just stay on the river the whole day.  We all kind of joked about staying on the river, but I think we all kind of meant it too.  It had been a perfect day- none of us wanted it to end.

We helped Dan roll up the raft while my dad went to get his truck.  We loaded everything back up, and drove back up the river to where we parked.  It took about 20 minutes and Dan said we had gone about 15 miles down the river. 

We decided to go grab some Mexican food and margaritas at a local spot Dan knew of.  We all got to talk some more, and relive the day.  Jeff got the high score on a pinball machine game, so he was happy.

After dinner it was about 7PM, and it was time to head back.  We all said how much fun it would have been if we were camping and staying over, but we hadn’t planned for that.  We all thanked Dan multiple times for taking us, and for being such an awesome guide.

I rode back to the city with my Dad.  After I got back to my sister’s house, I had about an hour’s drive in front of me to go home.  I was getting so tired, so I headed back.  I got home at 10PM and saw Joe in the living room-the boys were asleep.

I realized that this was the first time since having kids, that I had been away from them the entire day and evening.  I have to admit that I had so much fun. Not because I was away from them, but because for one day, I had zero responsibilities. 

It seems like a lifetime ago that I was that carefree.  I enjoyed just being, taking in what was happening and living in the moment.  Thanks to Joe, I knew the boys were being well cared for, and I didn’t have to worry about them.  A day later, I realize it was a day I really, really needed.  For this day I wasn’t mommy, but Heather again, if that makes sense.  

When you have young children, you just have to give certain things up for awhile- white water rafting is one of them.  I am so happy I was able to go though, and hopefully in a few more years, the boys will be able to go as well. 

In the meantime for me, having a day where I could just be, and enjoy each moment as they came, was wonderful.  It was a blast, and I hope I don’t have to wait another four-and-a-half years before I can do it again. 

To see pictures of us hitting the first rapid, and viewing Mara’s fall out of the raft, you can view our six pictures here.  We are pictures 12-17, and you will start at picture 12.  You can hit the arrow to see the series of pictures.  In the front of the raft left to right, is my brother, Jeff, and next to him is Kevin (Mara’s husband).  Behind Jeff is his wife, Kat, and next to her is Mara.  Behind Kat, in the hat is me, and across from me, is my dad.  In the very back is our guide, Dan. 

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If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that Ryan loves “The Music Man.”  Here is a previous post explaining how he came to love this movie so much.

I have been trying to find a theater in our area that would be presenting “The Music Man,” for a while now.  We discovered a dinner theater about half an hour away which was finally showing this musical.

So today Ryan, his Nana (my mom), Uncle Jeff, and Aunt Mara escorted Mr. Ryan to his first play/musical performance. 

Ryan was SO excited all week for this.  Today when he woke up he said with a big smile on his face, “Today we get to go see Music Man Mommy!”

I wasn’t quite sure how he would do- if he would get bored, or fidget, or just not get the whole play concept.  But, I could not have been more pleased.  He was just perfect.  He ate his lunch, using the best manners I have ever seen, and his eyes never left the stage for the entire performance.  He was enthralled with it all. 

He was such a little gentleman- it was really fun to see him be a big, grown up boy.  During the intermission, I took him to the restroom, and on the way out, he held the door open for all the ladies entering and exiting. 

While the performers were serving dessert, he said a line in the play, “Ya wild kid-ya!”  I saw a few of the performers laugh when they heard him say that- he mimicked the line very well.

Here is a picture of Ryan “reading” the program before it started:

We had a great time, and it was really nice my mom, brother and sister could come with us.  I know Ryan will always remember the first time he got to see “The Music Man” in person.  As his mother, I will too, but more that that- I will remember this as the first really grown-up event Ryan went to as a big boy.  

Now he can go back to just being a little boy- as great as today was, I don’t think I’m ready for him to act so grown-up every day- not yet.

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We are having a lot of fun around here this summer. The boys have taken to swimming, well-like fish to water.  Especially Cole.  It doesn’t matter what kind of water it is- he loves it.  From water from the hose, to the kiddie pool, to the sprinkler, to the water at the swimming pool- he is thrilled around water.

We have been trying to go swimming at least once a week.  We are pretty lucky that our town has two great kiddie pools, that we can alternate between them.  Today we took the boys to the kiddie pool in town that has a slide.  It isn’t a huge slide, but it is adequate for kids of all sizes.

I say that because Ryan wouldn’t go on it.  He didn’t want to at all. But Cole- we couldn’t keep him off of it.  Never mind that he was the only two year old going down the slide.  Never mind that all the other kids going down the slide were at least twice his age.  He was just in his own little world, and he was going down that slide as much as he wanted.

He would climb up the rock stairs, and wait his turn-just like all the other kids.  Then when it was his turn, he’d sit on the slide, and look at the water running down it.  Oblivious to the fact, that he was holding up the line. He just had a grin on his face a mile wide.  He had waited in line, and he was going to make the most of it!   He examined the stream of water coming out of a sprinkler to keep the slide wet, and had to touch it and play with the water.  No amount of coaxing from his daddy or mommy would make him hurry up.  This was his time to decide when he was ready to slide. 

And when he decided it was time to go, he let go, and swish…down the slide he went, with even a bigger smile into his daddy’s arms.  If he got water in his eyes, or in his nose, it didn’t bother him.  He would laugh, and quickly squirm out of daddy’s arms to go get in line again, and do what he just did, all over again.

Ryan was just happy to be bouncing around in the water and playing. At one point he came up to me, gave me a hug and said, “I’m having so much fun in this pool Mom.”   Another time, I was holding him in the deeper water, and he told me to take him back to shallow water, because he had a great idea.  Once we were in the shallow water, he asked me if I wanted to dance with him.  So we did a little waltz in the water. 

I had so much fun playing and watching my boys today.  They are so sweet and innocent, and watching them have fun, just made me appreciate again how fortunate we are to have them.  It doesn’t get much better than dancing in water with your four and a half-year old, or seeing pure joy and excitement in your two year-old’s face, as he experiences a water slide for the first time. 

When I was a kid, my mom used to take us swimming, but she never went swimming herself.  She said she had just as much fun, sitting on a beach blanket watching us.  I never understood that growing up- but today I did. I understand what she meant all those years ago.  As long as your kids are having fun, and enjoying themselves then you are too, and it is the most fun you will ever have.    

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We had a busy but fun Fourth of July! 

We went to a neighboring town for a parade, face painting, and music in the morning.  Ryan got his face painted with stars, and Cole wanted his arm painted instead.  There was an added bonus that there is a caboose in the town, so of course we had to walk over to see it.  Here are a few pictures of the caboose and me with the boys- you can see Ryan and Cole’s face and arm painted, and you can click on the pictures to see the images larger:

 It was getting hotter and hotter by the minute, and this little town didn’t have a lot of shade.  So we decided to pack it up, and head back home.  We stopped off for lunch at the boys’ favorite noodle bowl place.  The restaurant was almost empty, so we had the place to ourselves.  I guess not too many people go out to lunch on the Fourth of July. 

 When we got home, it was perfect weather to break out a new sprinkler ring I had gotten for the boys.  It was in the high 90’s, and they had a blast running through it.  Joe turned on the hose too, and they got to run back and forth between the two.  They did this for an hour, and just loved it:

 After all that fun in the sun, we all decided to take a nap.  We turned on our evaporative cooler, and it was heaven- hot outside, but cool and quiet in the house.  The boys were really conked out and slept for a few hours.  Meanwhile Joe went to the store to get some salad fixings, and then I made a salad to take over to Joe’s parents house for dinner.  Joe’s two sisters were up visiting for a few days.

After dinner we had a nice time visiting, and got a special treat- Grandma and Aunt K. had made homemade vanilla ice cream in Grandma’s hand cranked ice cream maker.  Another aunt, (also an aunt K.), made two kinds of hot fudge sauce, and Ryan and Cole helped her.  They had a lot of fun “helping,” and the ice cream turned out great. 

The we all hung out, until it was time to go the fireworks show.  The boys did really well, and were so excited, they didn’t act tired at all.  I am sure the naps helped.   We got to see a really neat firework show, and there was no issue with the “boom factor” for Ryan.

Towards the end of the show, Cole started to get tired and kept saying, “home.”  It was 10 p.m. by then, and way past his bedtime.  However, the boys were so dirty we had to give them a quick shower when we got home.  We got them in their beds as soon as we could, and they literally fell asleep before their heads hit the pillow. 

It was fun having such a relaxing and laid back day.  I am glad the boys are getting older where they can stay up later (with a nap) and can start to enjoy the special occasions.  I love the Fourth of July, and I think the boys are starting to develop a liking for it too.  All day today, Ryan and Cole kept saying, “Pop!”- imitating the fireworks. 

It was a perfect holiday- fun, family, food, and fireworks!

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I hope everyone enjoys the holiday.  We are planning on taking the boys to a neighboring town for a pancake breakfast (if we get there early enough), a parade, live music, and face painting among some of the activities.

Of course we plan to watch fireworks later in the evening.  Ryan doesn’t like loud noises, so I hope he is okay with the “boom” factor.  :-) 

I wish everyone a safe, and fun Fourth of July!

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On Sunday we had a play-date with one of Ryan’s friends, “Henry,” who we first met when they were about one, in music class.  Three months before I had Cole, Henry’s family had a baby sister, “Ella.” 

Despite us never planning it, Ryan, Cole, Henry, and Ella, always ended up in the same music class, and last fall, we discovered Henry and Ryan were in the same pre-school class.  Imagine our surprise when we ran into Henry and his dad at swim lessons a few weeks ago.  Henry is in the class before Ryan, but we were really close on the boys being in that class too.  

Henry’s mom, “Jane,” works full-time, so while I met her a few times off and on over the years, usually her children were with their nanny.  Ryan just loves playing with Henry, and vice-versa.  Henry invited Ryan to his birthday party  a few months ago, and they just had a blast. 

Jane asked if Ryan was going to the pre-school over the summer, and when I told her no, we decided they have so much fun together, we had to get them together to play.  Not to mention that Cole and Ella are almost the same age too.  We decided to meet up today for a swim play-date, at one of the kiddie pools in town.

I usually am not shy about meeting people, or hanging out with people.  I have talked to Jane over the years, but not a lot.  Even at Henry’s birthday, obviously she was busy with all the party activities and guests, but we did manage to talk there more than we ever have.  I was nervous about today though, and the reason why- THE SWIM SUIT.

On Saturday night at 9 p.m., I realized I had better decide what bathing suit I was going to wear.  Last time I checked, I had four of them- no problem.  I was sure one of them would fit.  I found out that two of them I used right after I had Cole, so they were too big.  Yay- nice problem to have.  Until I tried on the other two, and realized they were too small.  Nothing like trying to talk to someone and get to know them, while you are basically in nothing more than your underwear, which is too small at that.

I debated to go too big, but they just looked awful on me.  I looked like I was pregnant, and was trying to hide my body.  Of course, I am trying to hide my body, (at least my hips) but I didn’t want to look like I was. So I opted for one, that if I lost 3 pounds, it would have been perfect.  As it was, it is a tankini, which the bottoms ended just at the top of my “mama pooch,” and the top ended right a the top of it as well.  So I had a swimsuit that highlighted what should never be highlighted, “mama tummy.”  Great.  At least the bottoms hid my hips.  I was really close to running out to see if I could get a new suit, but realized most the stores would already be closed.  I vowed to get a new suit on Monday. 

We met Henry, Jane, and Ella at the pool.  We didn’t realize the pool didn’t open when we thought it did- it opened an hour later, but there was a playground, so the kids were fine.  Once the pool opened, the boys were in heaven. They loved the shallow water, and the sprinklers that shot up out of the ground to play in.

Jane and I got some more chances to talk and to visit, but we were busy keeping an eye on our little ones.  Fortunately Ryan and Henry were tall enough to stand in the deepest part of the pool- 2 feet 8 inches, so they had a great time playing in the “deep end.” 

Ryan was so excited when he came in for a snack- he kept saying he was swimming in the deep end.  We stayed for two hours.  Jane and I decided that we must come back and bring a lunch, so the kids could play even more.  We had so much fun. 

Ella really liked Ryan.  She wanted to play with him, and sit by him.  It was really cute.  She didn’t even hardly notice Cole.  When we were leaving though, Cole gave her a hug, and she looked at him like it was the first time she saw him all day.  Maybe they are too young still to be friends, but Jane and I both agreed that our second child, just didn’t seem to get the same amount of play time with other kids, that our first child did.  So, we are hoping we can change that. 

Ryan and Cole had so much fun, Joe is going to take them back to the pool this week, while he is on vacation.

As I was driving home, I realized that I didn’t think once about my bathing suit during the morning, and no one else there cared either.  No one had a perfect body- we were all parents, having fun with our kids.  I don’t need that new suit after all. 

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