92 Degrees In April

On the first day of spring this year, it snowed. Actual snowflakes, wind and ice, the whole bit. A week later, if that, the temperatures of the new season had gathered their thoughts, rightfully pushed old man winter out of the way, and sent the mercury on the thermometer all the way to 92 degrees.

I forgot how warm 92 degrees is. When you're bundled up in blankets with thick socks wrapped around your skin from your toes to your knees, a warm temperature like ninety two sounds like heaven, right? But when you're loading and unloading two kids from your minivan in the middle of multiple busy parking lots, dodging wasps and alien clicking bugs that always sound like they're about to crawl into your ear- 92 degrees suddenly seems very real, and dare I even say a little over the top?




In the early afternoon, as we were leaving the Airman's Attic, we passed a beaten up dirty play kitchen that was being set out by the dumpster. Eleanore's eyes lit up, and before I could say no, it was in the back of The Bob. As I was lifting it, I had my eyes half squinted shut, repeating "no spiders, no spiders, no spiders" as quietly as I could, so not to wake any sleeping insects that might hear me. Yes, we already have a play kitchen, one that Santa brought us for Christmas a few years ago, but this one, if cleaned up properly, would make a nice outside toy. We could always find a new family to take it in later if need be.

As we were driving home, after picking up a few new summer tank tops and a VHS movie or two (we have VCRs in both Eleanore's room, and the living room), I promised Elie that after baby brother went to sleep, we'd wash her play kitchen together. And of course, after I finally got Charlie settled down in his crib, and was just about to put my feet up on the back of the couch... she held me to my word.



After cleaning the kitchen until it couldn't possibly get any cleaner, I sent Miss Eleanore to water the grass in the front yard, which turned into her watering the tree, which turned into the tree flooding, which turned into me giving her a pot from the kitchen to make "water soup" in. The pot is actually what we had used as our soap bucket when washing the kitchen, since I couldn't find a plastic bucket, so the water soup turned into soap soup.



This was apparently, the best idea ever. I would have never thought that filling a pot with a seemingly endless stream of water could be so much fun. Usually we'd fill up the inflatable pool and she'd have her summer fun in that, but after two long summers of non stop use, it was time to retire the pool that has yet to be replaced.

Pots and pans. Hmmph. So simple.

ok we're still going to get another pool soon though.


After an hour or two, Brother stumbled out of bed with messy hair and a hunger for sidewalk chalk, and came out to have his turn playing with the cold-water hose.




He stomped around on the wet cement, laughed and squealed every time the water splashed onto his still sleepy skin, and without setting his chalk sticks down for even a second (hes been eating it, against our best efforts) he went back and forth, to and from, the wondrous portable fountain, not wanting to even blink, for fear of the water coming to an end.


If its 92 degrees in the first week of April, I don't want to even imagine what our summer is going to be like.

But I guess if all days are as fun as this one turned out to be, then we'll manage to get by...