Spiderman and the Princess: Bubble Fun for the Last Days of Summer

Yes. It's true.

Summer is nearing the end. Though our thermometer does not think so. Nor the heat index.

But still, I know it's coming.

So bring on the bubbles.

Spiderman and the Princess (sans princess outfit) had a ball whipping up lots of bubbles. Cool, light, frothy, cleaning...

(HAH! I tricked them into getting somewhat cleaner. But don't tell.)

Just add a few squirts of good dish soap to water in a plastic tub. Teach how to use hand cranked egg beaters, and away they go.

It's not only good for getting clean and getting cool, it's good for fine motor skills, coordination, and crossing the mid-point.

Everybody wins.

The Pool

I love freebies.

This summer, we have been plagued by heat.

Long, sweaty stretches of heat. Miserable heat.

Usually, the grands and I break out the little plastic wading pool. The three of us barely fit anymore, which is just as well. Since it bit the dust. We had one good use early on, then crack. A goner.

Enter said friend from the post yesterday about getting a free book. While on a rubber stamping trip to her home, she remembered that she had a pool.

An inflatable, bigger, deeper, plastic pool. For free.

Granted there were no guarantees on seaworthiness. But it was worth a try.

After picking off snails and earwigs (it was in storage, after all, in a damp climate), I popped it in the trunk. Upon arriving home, we spread it out to dry and wait for the grands to appear.

Oh, joy! A POOL.

Totally excited, they didn't care if we needed to add dish soap to help scrub the bottom while playing. Actually, I almost lost the whole bottle of concentrated Dawn when the younger decided to help speed things along.

The pool, large enough for even Papa to join us, works perfectly! Well, the sprayer umbrella thing is broken, but since sister is afraid of it, no biggy.

Summer, I can actually bear your heat.

I can even do some gardening. As long as I am in my Nana swimsuit and can take cool-off breaks, it's all good.

Thanks, friend.

$1 Store Rollers

What to do when it's hot outside?

Buy $1 store rollers. (50 cents each, folks.)
Fill plastic containers with water.
Give each kid a container and roller.

Roll away!

The grands had a great time painting the cement barrier in our yard. The rollers make excellent roads for cars and designs on driveways and sidewalks.

Only downside? For toy car roads...they dry very fast.

Upside? The children are busy, have fun, get wet, cool off, and don't ruin anything. Even replacing the rollers is pretty cheap.

Paint, babies, paint.

December 27

December 27th. Winter. Cold and dry. Or damp and foggy. But still, winter.

Just completed a chilly, face numbing walk through the neighborhood. And what did I see? And hear? Two silly, out of season robins!

Now, seriously. We did not have a white Christmas. Not even a foggy Christmas. Not perfectly clear, but not wintry weather either. Mild would be a good word. For the northwest, that is not good. We definitely need piles of snow and ice, wind and rain. Especially in the mountains. Summer irrigation depends on it.

But robins? They seemed wonderfully ignorant of the season, and blissfully happy to be bouncing from branch to branch.

I hope this does not forecast a clear, dry winter season for us. I dread to think of the hot weather water woes to follow if that is the case.

Or maybe, just maybe, the robins are a bit touched in the head. Blown off course on their fall departure route. Let's hope so.

Come on robins, head to your winter roosting spots. Come on snow, we need mountains of the pretty white stuff. It's winter! Snow, baby, snow.