posts tagged with 'pool'
this is summer
Yesterday was hot and sunny, as you'd hope and expect Memorial Day would be. So hot in fact that had a few moments of wondering how we'd survive and occupy ourselves all day! In the end, though, it was no problem at all. Harvey and I took our bikes out in the morning before it got really warm, and the closed-up house stayed cool through mid afternoon so we were comfortable lying around reading and playing card games for a couple hours. But the real star of the day was the new pool!
cool kids
Leah got it on sale because she was nervous that last year's might not have survived the winter, and that was wise: after one delightful day it seems to have developed a slow leak and is out of commission for the moment. The new one might not be quite as big, but it's deeper, and there was plenty of room for all three boys to enjoy almost four hours of swimming and playing in it after lunch.
And then we finished the day with a proper Memorial Day cookout—best burgers I ever made! We had hoped to share our supper with friends, and were a little sad that didn't work out. But really, we had a pretty great day together as a family so I can't really complain. It's going to be a good summer!
eats
family party
We did in-person Kids Church for the first time yesterday, but as exciting as that was it wasn't even the headline story of the day: it was completely outmatched by the baby shower we went to in the afternoon. Now, I know that baby showers aren't usually considered to be non-stop fountains of fun and delight—certainly when I told people we were going to one they were inclined to apologize. But they didn't need to! Because it was a fantastic party. There was a pool!
shower? pool party!
The mama being showered was my sister-in-law, who along with my brother and their two already-born kids are visiting from Virginia. We haven't seen them since before the pandemic—fairly long before—so it's been a joyful visit. Joyful, and just full! Our cousin who lives about an hour away wanted to get in on the family reunion fun, so the shower was really just an excuse to get us all together. The heart of the party was the ten kids: our three boys, their two first cousins, three of their second cousins (the hosts), and two of the second cousins' friends from down the street. As you can see from the photo above, they had lots of fun together.
The party started at 2:00, and besides the pool featured plenty of food, a Disney singalong (sorry, covid restrictions; we forgot!), and lots of relaxed hanging out. When we finally left a little after 8—facing an hour drive home!—we had to drag ourselves away, against the wishes of everyone else there, who all have later bedtimes than we do. We're tired this morning, but it was well worth it. Easily the party of the year so far!
how we're beating the heat this time
We're living through a heat wave this week. We kept the house reasonably cool for the first couple days, but by now that's a distant memory. It doesn't help that it's also very humid. We're doing alright though, thanks to a variety of adaptive measures. The boys' favorite is our blow-up pool.
feeling no heat
We got the pool last year, and we've managed not to pop it so far. It lives on the deck, which is great because there's a perfectly flat floor with no danger of sticks or rocks, and also because I don't have to worry about damage to the lawn. The boys have been having a great time out there: singly, all together, with friends... Listening from the street you'd think we had a full-size pool in the backyard with all the noise they make splashing, "diving", and even playing Marco Polo!
next we need a diving board!
While we fit in the pool well enough, Leah and I find that the boys' enthusiasm leaves it a little dirty for us to feel quite comfortable soaking. So we take other routes to beat the heat. We've got a window AC in the bedroom—which is to say, Leah's office—so she can work in comfort. Relative comfort, at least. When the humidity gets too much even there, she does her swimming at the pond.
Me, I've discovered I do the best when I spend the most time outside. I've spent lots of time weeding and pruning the last few days, and it's been really hot—but when I take a break and sit in the shade for a minute the air feels charmingly cool and comfortable in comparison! Plus, I'm more on top of the weeds than I've ever been before! In the past I've failed to understand how people could embrace really hot weather like this, but I'm actually kind of digging it this week. I've even taken a couple good bike rides! Maybe improved heat tolerance is something to do with getting older?
Tomorrow looks like it's going to be the last day of the heat wave before cooler, rainy weather takes over. I'll miss all the weeding time, but the plants will appreciate the rain. And it'll also be nice to give the water meter a break: between the garden, frequent showers, and water play in the yard keeping cool has taken a lot of water!