Keeping Cool(ish)

I admit I have been a slacker mom this year about getting out for typical wet summer fun. It is just so much work to do the whole swim diaper/swimsuit/sunscreen routine for the thirty minutes he would actually enjoy the activity.

Until this past week that is. Suddenly it kind of felt like "get wet or die". August in Texas. Gotta' love it!

Last Friday my awesome sister Lisa came to visit and we attempted another trip to the splash park. Since it was easily 130 in the shade I decided on the way there that if we weren't getting wet then we weren't staying. It was just too miserable.

Bennett was much more brave this time than our last visit and we all had a great time!

Bennett especially enjoyed gathering water in cups and pouring it out, usually on himself. Some of the other kids around were more than willing to help him.


I think this is a super cute picture of Bennett and his Aunt Lisa. It would be cuter minus the posing pre-teen in the background.

As he gained confidence that a little water in his face would not kill him, Bennett grew increasingly interested in the jets that sprayed straight up. He loved trying to cap the spray with his hand and push it back to the ground.


Now that's my big boy!

Then we got to do some real swimming on Saturday at Elliott's First Birthday Party. It was so fun to splash and swim with all the other kiddos. I didn't take many pictures because, well, I was swimming! The pool was the only sane place to be.


Elliott, Bennett and the "Fort Worth Girls", Kristen, Laura, Tricia, Me and Allison. We've all been friends since middle school or earlier.

Bennett also got to practice his baseball skills at the party. He has bats and balls at home and understands that the bat is supposed to hit the ball, but in the absence of a t-ball stand his attempts look more like hockey practice.




And I decided to go ahead and blow up our little baby pool for the back yard. What's the problem? It's only August! We have at least two months worth of pool-worthy weather left.

I just didn't want him to grow bored of it too early in the summer before the REAL heat set in.

Yeah. That's it.

Well, I decided that nekkid, in the late-afternoon shade, no sunscreen swimming works for us. It's the lazy mom's way.

Our afternoon swim time is starting to follow a predictable routine. Play with the ball. Pour water from the cups. Splash around with some kitchen utensils (the ladle is a favorite). Then spend half an hour doing the following: throw said utensils out of the pool, crawl out to get them, make the largest splash possible throwing them back in, laugh, crawl in after utensils, repeat.





I just love that little bare bottom.

He's going to just hate me for this when he's older, isn't he?