summer weekend

With the end of school a mere four days away, this weekend felt like a summer primer.

Sun, sun and more sun meant outside, outside, outside.   Saturday, Maya had a birthday party to go to and Ella went to the twin's house.  A friend picked Maya and I up and on the way to the party Katie asked, "Maya do you have your swim suit?"

I laughed and Maya said no. Kids, I thought.  Why would she be wearing a swim suit?

Katie's mom, Megan, turned to me.  "It is a water themed party," she answered kindly. 

Huh.  Turns out I hadn't read any more than the time and address on the FB invite.  A water party: slip and slid, pool, water balloons. 

Now here I was caught in a situation I am rarely (never) in.  I was totally unprepared for the party. 

Megan generously offered Katie's extra towel and princess cover-up to travel home in.  I decided Maya could go in her sundress if she had to.  We got there and I remembered just how wet you get on a slip and slide. 

"How do you feel about going in your undies?"  I asked her. 

Being the polar opposite of Ella who would not be caught dead in her underwear and a party, Maya nodded agreeably.

I pulled her sundress over her head.  At which point I discovered that when she dressed herself that morning she had put on the one pair of boy underwear in her basket, a left over from an accident she'd had at her grandparents house. 

Perfect.

I will admit that at this point I was struggling not to feel a little embarrassed.  I wanted to yell, I'm not this kind of mom!  I'm the mom who usually has all the extra stuff!  But Maya was so good natured about it, I worked hard to shrug it off.  The mom throwing the party had an extra tank top and Maya was off, down the slip and slide with her make-shift suit.

I laughed myself silly about those boy undies all afternoon.  When I came home and told Ella what had happened, her eyes got really big at the part where I asked Maya if she wanted to slide in her undies.  Ella said, "I would NEVER do that." I'm pretty sure Ella wouldn't even attend a party with such debauchery going on.

Sunday was more sunshine and we spent the entire day outside as a family, eating all our meals outside, working in the yard, playing in the sprinkler and riding bikes.  We rode our bikes to the nearby marina for ice cream.  LOVE that tag along!

When we had our team yard sale I snagged this sprinkler from one of my teammates.  This was its well- received debut.

My gardens are exploding, making me a very happy and busy person.  The flower beds and trees are mostly weeded and mulched and I bought the stone to finish up last year's garden edging project.  My sunflowers and veggies have sprouted and I could truly spend all day out in my yard, dirty, content and accomplished.

There is nothing quite like having my morning tea on the patio in the sunshine.  In those moments of sheer pleasure, I take pride in not being too hard to please.  At least not for that moment.