Yesterday we woke up bright and early and rushed out of the house so we could go riding. I have been waiting, weeks, no, months to be able to go riding again, especially since I got the new saddle. Yesterday was finally the day, the rain has backed off, Patty and I both had time available, it was time. We don't get more than 5 minutes from the house when the rain starts to fall ...sigh....I refuse to acknowledge the little droplets splashing on my windshield, so refrain from turning on the windshield wipers (why would I turn on my wipers if it's "not" raining?).
Thankfully we arrive at Patty's and the rain stops. Apparantly some parenting strategies work with weather too: if you don't give attention to the bad behavior, sometimes it will stop. So, we saddle up the horses. Daniel wants to ride THAT one: the paint who isn't broke and keeps dancing around at the end of his rope. I convince that Daniel needs to ride with me on THIS one: the 26 year old Bomb proof quarter horse. We had a great day of riding. When we finished, Patty and I discovered that Timmy and her youngest, Ethan, had found the Mulberry tree and smeared berry juice ALL over their faces. Ethan assured us that it was quite refreshing!
After that we headed into Utica so I could begin work in my preschool room. I had gone in with he idea that I would start working on rearranging the room, instead I spent the time filling out paperwork.
We headed home, tired and ready for a break. Daniel napped while Timmy and I zoned out together. After our brief rest it was time for swimming lessons. Timothy has amazed me this week with his swimming abilities. Timothy, my child who has had a phobia of water on his face from the day he was born. Timothy, who spent the first 4 and a half so years of his life screaming and hollering every time we rinsed his hair in the bathtub. Yes, this is the same child who, just a year ago, was thrilled that he put his face under water at the hotel swimming pool when in fact his "face" was just his chin. Having a little brother to take baths with has certainly helped. Daniel has certainly increased Tim's exposure to having water on his face with all of his splashing and playing in the bathtub. However, I still wasn't sure how lessons would go since last week Tim was still avoiding getting his face wet at the pool.
So, last night was Timmy's fourth day of swimming lessons: he is floating on his back, swimming on his tummy using a kickboard, AND, get this: holding his breath under water for 20 plus seconds (and not just his chin!) And he's loving it, his face just beams when he gets out of the water.
Immediately at the conclusion of swimming lessons Tim needed to head next door to the baseball fields for his last t-ball game (swimming lessons ended at 6, the game began at 6). T-ball was fun, I think Timmy and I are both glad it's done for this year, that's all I'll say about it.
Then we came home and were exhausted. It was a hot day. One of those days where the wind would blow but it was a HOT wind, not the kind of soft breeze that helps to cool you off. I was tuckered out, the boys were tuckered out, bedtime would certainly come early tonight!
The sun was still shining, brightly in the West as it started to descend towards the horizon. And then it started to rain, straight down in sheets, while the sun continued to shine. When I was in Hawaii we called it "raining sunshine". Timmy asked "can we go out in it??!" and I said "Absolutely!" So we did, Timmy, Daniel and I ran outside letting the cool raindrops fall on us while the sun continued to provide it's warmth. "Aaaaah," I said, "this is refreshing!" Timmy's eyes light up with that oh so mischevious look of his as he takes off around the fence to: you guessed it, the mulberry tree. What's more refreshing than a cool rain at the end of a hot day? Mulberries smeared all over the face. We might have a market started here! "Mulberry Rainshine Facial"
