Playdate Steamed

Wednesday evening brought wild and woolly storms through the area, all evening long and well into the night. Lots of water, but thankfully, no downed trees or any damage.

Playdate dawned gray, warm, steamy and close, but the play went on.  I couldn't uncloud my lens, but it did paint a picture of the atmospheric muck we trudged around in all day. And let's just just say those of us with curls hand some wild and woolly ones too.

Missy Buttercup is adding lots of detail to her portraits this summer.

Tandem painting with Giddy-up and Ol' Blue Eyes.

 One way to combat the steam is to just climb right on in the water table.

Break out the tools and fix the helicopter.

 

A little drumming in a cardboard box.

Finally painting summer shirts. I'm not sure the paint will ever dry.

 Wee Will is smiling and talking and such a delight.

 Ceece created a wet and wriggling blurb to splash around on.

 Handy Man finally hooked with up the depositor of the garage snake skins.

 And since the water had the creek up, Grandfather brought a kayaking opportunity.

 Before Grandfather arrived, we went to play in the creek. I had a Humphrey Bogart moment with Baby Boy, who at four is not so much a baby anymore.  Anyway, I'm sitting there, in the creek, and he walks over, gets close, cocks his head and says, very conspiratorially, "Here's the thing." What four year old says that. Needless to say, I'm intrigued.   "Yes."
"You need to always do what I say."  "I'm the boss of this place."  Good to know Baby Boy, you are the boss."

 Antebellie, very seriously shared with me how this very creek came to be.
In times past, it wasn't a creek, but a bridge and there was so many cars, it broke the bridge and the cars fell in and made the creek.  All the car parts are still there somewhere, but they are hidden because this all happened a hundred years ago.
Well, then.

These last two hot and steamy summers have really made me feel my age.  When it's in the eighties and low humidity, I just go, go, go. When it bumps up to ninety plus and the humidity is 99.9 percent, except when it was a hundred and raining, I feel like a wrung out one time too many dishrag long before the dishwasher's loaded, or the last toys put away.  Still, I look over the day with grateful heart at the fun, the learning, the growing, the laughs and relationship building. They are growing at warp speed and I'm sadly aware that these carefree summer days are numbered.
So, here's the thing (ha).  I won't remember the heat or my exhaustion, but I will remember smiling and lending an ear to hear what Baby Boy needed to say,  watching Drummer Boy's little drummer girl, Giddy-up finally enjoying the dolphin swing and his precious laughing, Bean figuring out the kayak and the paddles and the soft coos and ear to ear smiles of our tiniest Wee Will. Heart warming all.