The Last Summer Day

Today was the last Tuesday of the summer that I had the kids since they all three start school on Thursday. We had such a fun day!

A good part of the morning was spent working in the garden, emptying pots and baskets of scraggly flowers, sweeping the sidewalk, and gathering piles of weeds I'd left around the back yard. They each earned a dollar for their labor, so they made sure they worked hard enough to get paid. :o)

Break time meant sidewalk chalk - lots of sidewalk chalk. So much so that they all had to strip down before coming inside, and I tossed their clothes in the washing machine.

After getting changed, we threw together some PB&Js and headed out for a picnic. Instead of eating here in the yard, though, we climbed into the car and drove the few miles to Stromsburg's park. My thought was that we'd have lunch, then possibly swim in the baby pool (if there were no babies there). They had other plans. As soon as they saw the big swimming pool, they would not even entertain the idea of just wading in the small one. So I took the plunge (so to speak) and as soon as the pool opened, we were heading to the locker rooms to get a shower "before entering pool area". I didn't have my suit, so just sat on the side of the pool with my feet in the water, and watched the kids turn into fishies before my eyes.

They had so much fun, and it was great to watch them go from timid and cautious to comfortable and confident. They'd not ever been to a big public swimming pool before and loved having the room to play. By the time we left, Wyatt was jumping off the side, and both Wyatt and Grace were putting their face into the water. Garett was pretending to be a shark, chasing the others back and forth across the pool.
Of course, no one wanted to leave when it was time to go, me included. Now I know that next summer we'll make this a regular activity. I look forward to it as much as they do! :o)