We are very fortunate to have a fenced-in yard here on the West Coast. It's nice and warm nearly every day and the kids love to play outside. Yesterday, amongst my potty-training angst, desperate for a break, I told the kids, "Whoever takes a good nap can play hang-man with me after they wake up or they can run in the sprinkler."On base, even numbered houses can only water the grass on even days and odd numbered houses on odd days. But you can turn on the sprinkler for your kids on any day.
So after nap, they all remembered my promise and they all wanted to run in the sprinkler. We have no idea where our swimsuits are mind you. They're probably in a box marked "Decor" or "Books." Yeah, our packers were so precise with packing.
I told them the only rule was they could NOT come back in the house wet-- and they had to warm up and dry off in the sun. If they needed a towel to come in the house, sprinkler time would be done.
They played for about an hour and then begged for umbrellas to play with too in the sprinkler-- which I also thought was a marvelous idea. In the Frozen North it was always WAY TOO COLD to play in the rain with umbrellas. And here, it rarely rains. So why not use umbrellas in the sprinkler too? The umbrellas bought them another hour. Or rather I should say, it bought me another hour.
The other fun thing they did was find a cup in the backyard, fill it with the water from the sprinkler and poor it down the holes in the ground that the moles and ground squirrels dug. I felt like cheering them on, "Yeah! GO! Drown those annoying lawn-destroyers!" But I definitely did not. And when they saw me and did that, "Oh crap, we're in trouble now" expression, I just smiled encouragingly so they would continue.
By the time Danny came home, I was exhausted from a day of gestating and potty-training, but in good spirits. So I squeezed 8 or 9 lemons and crushed about a basket of strawberries and made fresh strawberry lemonade. I won Bestest-Mommy-in-the-whole-world Award from the kids.
It's only 8:30 a.m. now. Bun has had a very successful poop in the potty already this morning. Gabbers and Bun are playing together nicely in a box right by the sliding glass door watching and waiting for the sun to shine strong so they can play in the sprinkler again.
10 comments:
Perfect summer day! :D Love the idea of using umbrellas in the sprinkers too.
Fun, fun! I remember when turning the sprinklers on was a neighborhood event. If there was water spraying, there were a million kids there... It was awesome!
Way to get your kids out of your hair...I mean, way to engage your kids in a healthy and fun activity! :)
Oh, my gosh, I remember how much fun it was to run in the sprinkler as a kid! (Some 40 million years ago.) Your kids sound very innovative--love the umbrella idea!
What an awesome day!! can i come over for Strawberry lemonade? my strawberries are much too precious for lemonade..I always save them for Angle food cake!
Don't you just love the sun over here? What a change for you guys! Although, give it a couple months and it won't be so endearing anymore. lol
That is hilarious that you can run your sprinklers for your kids for two hours but you can't water your lawn on certain days. Leave it to Cali. They were having water issues when I was in college in the Central Coast. Loved the umbrella idea! How cool.
Mole control advice: whenever you get haircuts, save the hair and stick it down in the holes. They will end up scratching themselves to death. We had mole problems in NE so that's what we did. Don't worry, you won't have dead moles lying around your yard. They die in there tunnels underground. GO BUN on pooping in the toilet!yeh!
Sherilee! how inthe world did you stumble upon that info? Wow! Who would have thought...just hair clippings. And here people go to great lengths with poisons, and other Caddy Shack type antics. haha
You are so the best mommy in the world - fresh strawberry lemonade - yum, yum! my boys love "water days" - they usually take the hose onto the trampoline and have a fabulous time. they have also been doing lots of "experiments" lately mostly involving all the kitchen utensils, water, dirt, leaves, unripe cherries from the neighbors' tree and sometimes bugs. It's great!
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