Summer's Last Heat Wave

Temps rose again recently. We were in the 90s yesterday. After a very overcast morning, the last day of summer finds us at 84 degrees, just before dinner.

I would love to take James swimming at the pool. Alas, James and swimming are no longer the friends they used to be. He used to like splashing in a public pool, jumping off the side into my sarms and letting me tow him around to kick his feet.

Now he is tall enough to walk the pool and never get his head wet. A few times a year I can coax him in, when there's minimal pool activity. Getting him out can take 20 minutes.

I am glad that I signed James up for swim lessons when he was younger. He loves splashing in the local river and I think a balance between wanting to play in the water and having some history that makes him confident (but not too much so) around water is a very good thing.

I just wish he'd enjoy spending some recreational time in the swim pool again.

Pool Party Afternoon

Saturday Sidekicks went out with a splash! They threw one nice pool party this afternoon at Sonoma State. About half the pool was sectioned off for water play. Lots of the Sidekick buddies were already in the pool when we arrived, splashing and encouraging the kids to have fun in the water.

Beach balls and water polo balls bobbed merrily about. Floatie tubes helped the less confident to stay afloat. I towed James all over the pool for about an hour as he kicked, splashed, and yelled "Wheeee, a pool party!" over and over. His sister took off and swam like a fish all over the pool, with a buddy tagging along to monitor her progress and talk with her. James knew some of the kids in the pool, and we had fun hanging out near each other, and enjoying brief moments of connection and interaction.

Then the gigantic horse raft was brought out. Oh my. Most of the kids clamoured for a ride, often overbalancing and tipping over shortly after managing to get on top. Eventually, most kids had their fun, and climbed out to devour the pizza that had been delivered, poolside. A small dedicated group continued their water play. I got a shot as James did not want to get back in the water after pizza.

We hit the mid 80s and had a light breeze. It was perfect weather!

One last thank you and aloha for this year, Saturday Sidekicks!

When Getting There is Half the Fun

Preparing for an afternoon at the pool can be as much fun as a circus -- who knew?

Awesome flying floaties are flung in circles on a forearm. Fascinating!

The afternoon at the pool was pretty tame by comparison (but they fell asleep pretty quickly tonight)!

I don't mind that it took a little while to get there -- James and his sister enjoyed some quality time together and these non-screen activities made the day pass quickly and delightfully.

Water Buddy

Even though we hit the road in October, Southern California had one more heat wave up its sleeve for us. As the temps climbed and baked us in the mid-90s, the kids became increasingly excited about using our hotel's pool. The high outdoor temps were key, because the outdoor pool was not heated.

Even though James is a wader and refuses to get his head wet (let alone blow bubbles or do "bobs"), he has become more confident when playing in the water. I am sure being bigger has a lot to do with it, but I like to think all those trips to our gym's pool and watching his sister's classes helped too. In fact, it was at the gym's pool this summer that James started to engage in water splashing fights, and did not get too upset when splashed in the face.

I enjoyed the fact that I did not have to be in the water right there with the kids too. I love swimming and water play, but being able to thumb through a magazine (waiting to be read since July) while soaking up the sun and watching the kids made me feel even more like I was on vacation. Here was another first for us all.

It was really fun to watch him play in the water. Because he can now walk down the pool steps to the bottom of most pools, James tends to stay in the water longer. I no longer have to slap a floatie on him if I am poolside. His sister has been successful with swimming dogpaddle style by herself so my focus can be on him. James' focus was on his sister (and, one afternoon his cousin) as she kicks, cavorts, and leaps off the side of the pool into the deeper water. It made me feel so good that he laughed and was a part of it. Next year, I hope he's doing some more cavorting of his own.

Fountain Fascination

What is it about kids and fountains? Is it the sound? Motion? Sensory stimulation? Or is it all about the playing?

We have a nice one at our Town Green and the kids love the one at Preston Vineyards. During our recent trip to Thousand Oaks, both kids spent long periods of time playing by this fountain:

Made me happy, because I had a chance to relax and drink my morning coffee rations slowly, watching them enjoy themselves. The warmer weather (80* before 9:30am) helped too.

Fountain Hit Parade:

Town Green Fountain

Play Factor at Discovery Museum in Sausalito

Preston Vineyards

Special Exp. / Wordless Wednesday: Sprinkler

Sprinklers! A touchstone for hot summer afternoons since they were invented. James won't get his head wet, but he will run & play with the sprinklers; especially if big sister is there with them. We usually take a break with Popsicles on the lawn. Life is good.

For more great images or to join in the fun, Visit Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs


and ... Wordless Wednesday

SOOC Saturday: New Year at the Beach

A group of friends from our UCSC college days decided to get together and head to the beach in Santa Cruz to ring in 2010. We could not get away for the overnighter part, but we did enjoy meeting up with them on the second day of the New Year.


Can I just say that I still love to drive HWY 17 when it's not choked up with traffic? It's beautiful and interesting, always. Then there's the thrill of leaving behind a huge metropolis and dropping from the forest in the mountains down to the ocean. Ahhhhhh! The flashback to our glory days is a bonus.

The kids are really good car travelers, although James is showing a tendency to get carsick on long (over 5 hours) or twisty rides. It only took us ~2 hours to get there and I kept a most sedate pace over the mountain. Therefore, we arrived just after 11:00 AM, refreshed and eager to get out there and walk.

The kids were super good as we walked from West Cliff to Saturn (Cafe) downtown. They liked the old pinball machine in the restaurant. We chatted with our friends while the kids fidgeted (James) and amused themselves (his sister, drawing). James ate the french fries and had some milk. He was totally not interested in their organic PB&J sandwich. He did eat the apple slices that I'd packed in a baggie.

We progressed down to Logos books. There, the kids started to melt a bit. So after a look at the kids' books in the basement, we walked back to the Boardwalk, where the kids had a good hour or so in the sun and wind, playing near the surf. The was much running, jumping, leaping and frolicking.

We let the kids take off their shoes & socks and run barefoot. James loved feeling the dry and wet sand on his feet and toes. Practically the whole time walking was spent with his hands in the "high guard" position and on his toes, springing along with a loping stride. His foot prints were a mixture of ten tiny toes and the balls of his feet and regular footprints where the sand got swampy.

Of course, a great deal of the time was also spent *on* the sand, making sand angels and drawing. Had to clamp down on the throwing.


It was a great start to the New Year.

Five 'til Midnight: Favourite Things

The airport, airplanes, and helicopters are all still favourite things and destinations for James. We are lucky to live near a small regional airport that allows us to easily watch aircraft take off & land. Sometimes we watch from the car. Other times we check out the action from just outside the airport itself. Other times ... we head to the museum that is located right down the street:


James loves bike riding. He has outgrown 2 trikes at home, so finding out that the second preschool has not only larger trikes but a large riding ring around the playground has filled us all with glee. James at times cannot contain his joy -- he must howl!


Water. Rocks. Add James. Prepare for a long afternoon of rocks being thrown in the river, with intervals of James wading in the river to find more rocks. Lather, rinse, repeat. Hey -- he's looking like a southpaw, suddenly!

SOOC Saturday: Weekend Edition

A walk to the River:






A morning of adventure!



James threw rocks with both hands, but mostly used his left. He's been switching more lately to using his left hand for writing. A lefty! Mr Southpaw! That runs in my mom's family. My brother's daughter is a lefty too.



James could have done this allllll day!



The Slurping Life is tying one on! Visit Melody and check out SOOC Saturday/Sunday entries past & present!



  

SOOC Saturday: Morning Coffee Run

Mornings with James while on vacation makes for some special time together. I go off in search of some good coffee and James, my early riser, comes along for the walk.

Luckily this motel is very close to a Starbucks. While not my favourite coffee chain, the have good espresso shots and are very understanding of parents and the early-rising young ones.

Bonus points: This one has a killer, SOOC-photogenic fountain out front:



For more fun, photographs, visit Melody at Slurping life. To find out about SOOC or to participate, visit SOOC Saturday.

World Explorer: Preston Winery

Today we went to one of our favourite local places for a rustic lunch -- Preston Winery. Everything is artistic, organic, friendly, and thoughtful. The kids love to chase around the myriad cats who own the place. The chickens have amazing feather colours and patterns. Everywhere you look is a still life in nature and man-made materials, with rich, soothing colours.








James loves to play with water He was at this fountain for quite some time. Until he suddenly soaked his shirt. Then, he could not ask to get home fast enough. He wanted a new, dry shirt!


I am glad he is having so much fun with exploring his world. He was using some words on this trip to tell me about what he was seeing and interested in:
-- "Mommy: come see cat."
-- "Mommy, is a airpane!"
-- "I want more chips, puhhhhleeze!"

Wow! Wow! Wow!