Surviving the Summer Sizzle

For the 3rd time in 2 days, we've heard the cool weather reports from our Midwest family and friends. So while I'm inclined to say, "Al Gore and his Global Warming can suck it," I do admit that we are just as toasty warm as ever this July (guess it's August now) in California. Highs in the hundreds are common, rain or any type of cloud or cooling down is not. A new daily routine has been established and we've had it in place for 2 whole weeks now. We wake up and immediately put on the sunscreen and swimming suits to get outside before it gets so hot the ground burns the skin right off the bottoms of your feet. We haul the little potty and sometimes even breakfast out there with us.

.

We swim. Our old pool took a beating and ripping at Delia's birthday party, so we replaced it with this bigger one complete with slide in the middle (much like the popular pool we borrowed). We use it often 3 times a day-- first thing in the morning, after naps and again after dinner, though by this time it feels more like a hot tub. Ella and Delia have so much fun in it, I love watching them play all sorts of imaginative things for hours together.

We splash in the new water table from Auntie Karen and family. It was sent for Delia's birthday. We love it!

We tend to the thriving garden and pick stuff almost every day.

The girls play while I pull weeds and prune flowers. Often I join in the play, but there was just no more room on the trike or in the playhouse peep-hole!

After 6 years of summer in the Central Valley, this may be the first year I'm not surprised by or complaining about the heat. It's just a part of where we live and we can and will acclimate.