Beating the Heat

We've been trying to keep cool here in Litwiller land during this three-day heat wave. I got lots of advice about where to take the kids around here, then realized we don't have the extra money to take them anywhere. So I got a little creative. We have a covered sandbox in our backyard (one of those frog/turtle things) and it still had the sand in it from last year. Along with a layer of water that ducks have been using as a little pond (I have pictures to prove it!). I had Rob dump all of that out, clean out the box, and fill it with water. I'll have to get a pic of the kids using it, because it's pretty tiny. They can all sit on the edge and dip their feet in or at least two of them can sit in it. Since Anna is not all that fond of water yet, the boys usually get the pool to themselves. It does cool them off some, so it has been worth it.

Of course we have stocked up on cold eats and Kool-aid (which I only allow during hot weather). But today I knew we needed to do something away from home. Originally it was supposed to storm today, so I planned to take them to play at McDonald's. While they played in their pool this morning, I realized that the forecast had changed and we could actually go swimming in someplace large enough to submerge more than an ankle. We have two main options--the beach in Lake Mills or the Aquatic Center. Another brilliant thought dawned on me--I got paid for a babysitting job just last night (I'd do it for free but this mom feels better when she pays me) and it was in the exact amount to get all four of us in at the aquatic center! Perfect! We waited to leave for the pool until after Rob had left for work and had many dreams of splashing around in the cool, clear water. And since the city schools are not finished until Thursday, we thought there would be less people at the pool.

Yeah. There were less people, alright. Zero, in fact, along with a sign that said the pool opened at 4pm. Apparently the large numbers of private and homeschool families in town that are already done for the year wouldn't be enough to get the pool open early. The kids started to show some disappointment (and frankly, I did, too) so I made a snap decision to go to the beach instead. It took us about 20 minutes to get there and when we did, it was packed! But we found ourselves a little spot in the shade and the boys were in the water in no time. We did have to deal with a cranky sunbather who tried to talk to Ben about kicking sand on her leg. I looked her right in the eye and said, "He was merely running past you. He was not kicking sand." She backed off and said, "Oh, I know, it just happened when he ran." Then she tried cornering him later when I was in the water with Anna, so I called he and Matthew over and showed them a path to our things around the Cranky Lady. (Who also tried to tell Anna to get a shirt on b/c she was so pale skinned.) ARGH!! I'm glad she left our family alone after that, b/c I was very much in the mood by that time to point out that her smoking was causing others to breath in toxic fumes, but she left. After yelling at other kids not to run, of course. (One of my biggest pet peeves is when people try to tell kids not to be kids, but I digress...)

Miss Anna was not nearly as brave as last year, so she and I spent most of our time on the beach. Kind of bummer for me, because I like to swim!! But we went at her pace and before I knew it, she was splashing at the water's edge and letting her brothers take her in about knee deep. The boys had a marvelous time splashing around and trying to see how far they could go in the water. Thankfully, there is a roped off swimming area, so I knew they were okay. We did manage to lose a sand bucket somehow when the boys tired of playing with it and left it in the lake. They fussed about it when it was time to leave, but I think they need a lesson or two about taking care of their property.

We left when Anna just about fell asleep on her towel and stopped at McDonald's for supper on the way home. Since we couldn't use my extra money for the pool, we used it for dinner!

And I'm hoping we make it through one more day without melting :) We do have a "new" fan in the living room that has made a world of difference. Rob and I bought an industrial fan back in Cali, but the stand had broken and Rob wanted to hang on to it and build it a new stand. Well, Matthew just happened to accidently knock over our pedastal fan in the living room and the blades shattered. Rob just went upstairs to the closet, took out the industrial fan, and put the two together to make one mean living room fan. It's awesome and about as good as you can get without a/c. We call it.....The Frankenfan. Yup, we're weird like that! But at least his obsession with keeping broken things paid off this time :)