Rainy Days and Sunny Days

I am absolutely LOVING this summer - cooler temps, and the last few weeks have brought a considerable amount of rain. Of course, rain means soggy kiddos, as they love to run out and "drink" it and splash around in puddles. They are never ready to come back into the house until they are thoroughly soaked. But to see their little uplifted faces, hands raised to the skies and tongues sticking out - it makes me want to run out and soak up some rain myself.

Speaking of rain, we had planned to go to the Columbus Zoo with our good friends Dave & Johanna, whom we've known since our college days, and their munchkins. But a steady downpour forced us instead to stay indoors and actually spend time talking. So, the adults spent time together while the kiddos played. It turned out to be much more fun (for the adults!) than the zoo would have been. And, as usual, we have a picture of all the kids together, and none of the adults. (The kids are a lot cuter!)

Several weeks ago, the kiddos and I also got to spend some time with their grandma and great-grandma. Poor Grandma lost her earring at the park, but other than that, everyone had a good time.

The more comfortable weather has allowed us to spend more time outdoors this summer than we normally do. Zeke learned last week to ride a bike without training wheels, thanks to the $5 bike we found at a garage sale a few weeks ago. I never realized kids' bikes come in three different sizes until about a month ago! So he had one way-too-small bike and one bike that will be perfect in about 2 years. But now, with the right size bike, he zooms around the block like nobody's business.





We've also spent many happy hours at the pool, where both Rachel and Zekers are learning to swim quite well. If you are ever in a pool with Zekers, you've got to ask him to show you his underwater swim. It may be one of the funniest things I've ever seen. How I wish I was brave enough to take the camcorder to the pool.

And finally, Moo is getting old enough to spend time with some of his friends - and having a blast. It's a messy, challenging time, but I just love little boys this age. And they're even more fun as they get older.