The kids have recently begun waking up, ready to go, at 7AM or earlier. They were up early today and exhibited enough energy to coax Daddy to take advantage of the cool morning air and serve breakfast al fresco. I enjoyed a strong cup of coffee while we ate "honey cereal" under the umbrella on the patio. Missy circled below with anticipation. That was the beginning of an entire day outside.
I put a new bag of fresh, clean play sand in their sandbox following breakfast. By 8:30 the kids brought me "birthday cakes" in their buckets which consisted of damp sand delicately coated with a handful of dirt, embellished with sprigs of mint, rosemary, and pink rose petals. I appreciated the gesture, but I had a big breakfast and my diet wouldn't allow me more than a couple bites. My tastes may have been off, but despite Norah's insistence, I was unable to detect the mild hint of strawberry the rose petals supposedly elicit.
Missy regretted making herself so available as it reminded us that she needed a bath. I retrieved the hose as she slunk off to the shadows under the table and made herself scarce. Each glance in her direction was met with a stoop shouldered sheepish look, that suggested she was willing herself to become invisible. I whistled a couple short bursts that normally brings her running, but she remained statuesque. I sent the kids to sweet talk her to no avail, which made the kids break out into giggling and pointing as they realized she was hiding because she hates bath time.
Finally sand buckets were eagerly filled with water and giggling intensified as I explained to them that they should NEVER do this to poor Missy without Daddy's permission (like they don't do this already). If she wouldn't come to us, we would go to her. The protection of the table was an illusion as Norah dumped a half gallon of water on Missy's back, causing her to flee to a corner. Justin was ready with his own half gallon baptism that led her to escape to Daddy's protection- "Surely HE wouldn't treat me so poorly." Once again, she sorely misconstrued her allegiances as the hose was administered for the next 5 minutes. Missy stood dejectedly, resigned to her fate as a clean, albeit extremely wet puppy dog as the kids encouraged her that she would "smell so pretty" when it was all done. It took a while, but she forgave us.
Next we trimmed some iris stalks and pulled dandelions along with a host of other plentiful weeds around the yard as the kids intermittently climbed on their playground and went swinging. As I began cleaning the pond pump they stopped everything and ran into the garden to watch. Justin implored me to watch out for "creatures", while both kids lobbied heavily for me to allow them to tiptoe along the rocks where I sat. As usual, that request was denied multiple times, so they laid down next to each other on the flat rock and poked at the water lillies and pointed at goldfish while I worked.
After eating lunch at a local restaurant, we went for a nice walk along a trail and stopped at a park allowing the kids to swing and play chase for over an hour. Both kids began to show signs of exhaustion on the way home, and when bedtime finally arrived at 8:30, they crashed, not even getting out of bed a single time. It was a good day.
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