This afternoon Dave and I started staining our playset.  This was a job that had been on Dave’s “to do” list since the weather got warm, and he was dreading it.  But, since the weather had finally broken and it was way less hot and humid today, we decided to start tackling it.  Dave started as soon as the kids were done with lunch, and then when I put Emma down for her nap a short time later I went out and joined him.  We put Ben on the couch for a “rest” with a movie.  I know, I know…a movie as a babysitter is pretty pathetic, but we didn’t want him to get anywhere near the oil based stain and we knew he’d just want to “help” if he was out there with us.  Working outside without dripping in sweat was so nice.  Although, I will admit I should have used a stronger sunscreen, because my shoulders are a little pink tonight.  They could be (and have been) much worse, though, so I’ll deal with it. 

We knew that we’d never get done in one night unless one or both of us worked pretty much straight through until dark, so I convinced Dave to stop when naptime was over.  We decided that it would be much more fun for all of us to head to State Farm pool instead.  We hadn’t been yet this summer, and we had a great time there.  Ben wanted his swimmies on as soon as we got there, which meant he was way more confident in the pool and that we didn’t have to be only a step away from him at all times.  He went down the slide a bunch of times, and he even went down the bigger slide in the middle pool!  The middle pool is one that’s about 3′6″ deep at it’s deepest.  We hadn’t been in there before, and he loved it!  It was still a little deep for Emma, who can’t really balance herself with swimmies yet, so we pretty much stayed in the baby pool with her.  Poor Emma…she wanted to go down the slide in that pool so badly, but she just couldn’t muster up the nerve.  She’s not usually scared of much, but she stood on the platform at the top of that slide for a really long time and never did go down.  Maybe next time…

We ate dinner at the snack bar at the park, fed the geese in the pond, and then swam a little more before packing up to head home.  On our way home we stopped for ice cream to round out a really great day.  Poor Ben was so tired that we were literally were yelling, “Ben, Ben…keep those eyes open, Buddy!” in the car on the way home just so he could make it without falling asleep.  We really had a great day together, and I look forward to hundreds more like it!