Christmas in August?

Thanks to Little B for the background sounds and to Grandma W for the fancy gloves.

The Club

Today we were lucky enough to be invited to a private pool by some friends. CJ and Mama enjoyed that there were less crowds than we usually see at the outdoor pool. CJ also had a blast jumping in with her two friends and going down the slide by herself. She also showed off her front crawl skills. Very fun! And did I mention the clean locker rooms, complete with a swimsuit spinner to extract the extra water before we headed for home. Afterwards we stopped for a quick look at the amazing rock climbing room inside the facility.

Life Jackets

Today we were supposed to meet some friends at the outdoor pool when it opened. Since the clouds hadn't cleared and Mama had goosebumps in the car, we decided to wait it out a bit and go play at their house for a while. CJ enjoyed music, legos and a snack and then the sun made an appearance so we headed out for the pool.

CJ has been fascinated with life jackets since her last swim lesson and she wore one almost the whole time we were at the pool. She convinced her friend to do the same. This gave Mama a little more confidence in her swimming abilities and we got a bit further apart from each other than usual - until the lifeguard reminded us to be within an arms length of each other until CJ grows a few more inches.

Hot Dog

Today we took Little B to her eye doctor for a check-up of her eye. She had cataract surgery a few years back and it really wasn't successful as she was young and there was a lot of regrowth of new tissue on the artificial lens. We knew she'd be on drops for the rest of her life so the visit seemed silly, but this time the doctor finally gave us the word that we don't need to come back any longer. Little B was salivating and staring at the cabinet the whole time we were in the exam room, but the doctor could only find some oyster cracker treats in there so he stepped out for a minute and came back with a hot dog to reward her for her great behavior. We think it might have helped that labs are the doctor's favorite breed.

Ten Minutes?

Today we met some friends at the zoo. After walking around and actually seeing a few animals this time (unlike the last), everyone was hungry and we spread out a blanket on the lawn for a picnic lunch. We were in between shows and didn't think we'd make it until the next one started, but the kids had fun running around and tumbling and sure enough a show started. It was Jungle Journey and talked about animals and the rain forest, but it only lasted ten minutes. After over an hour waiting. And a portion of that time was dedicated to showing how the bird could catch your donation and stuff it in a box after the show. Regardless, the kids enjoyed it and the sun was strong so we headed over to the sno-cone stand pretty quickly afterwards.

Eco Girl

The neighbor kids had an eco themed birthday party this evening. Since we'd had a late lunch, CJ chose to stick with lemonade and a cupcake for her food choices. Then the kids did a gift exchange of old toys and books wrapped in recycled materials. CJ ended up with a bag of old matchbox cars, but was able to initiate a trade for a nice Olivia book.

No Views?

We stopped for lunch at Walking Man Brewing, but somehow made it out of there without a picture. Guess they didn't have a view to compare to what we found in Hood River.