Some people have pools.
We don't.
A few days ago, the kids started playing a game called, "drip, drip, drop,' which is played a lot like 'duck, duck, goose,' except you drip water on heads and then dump a cup of water on the person you tag as 'it.' I came outside to watch and I'm tellin' ya...they looked pitiful.
Eight kids trying to get wet with one small bucket of water.
So I did what any mother would do. I went to the store to see if there were any water-based activities I could get for them. I came home with a brand, spankin' new slip and slide.
We tried it out on the hill in our backyard. It says on the instructions that this won't work.
But we were only imagining the fun we could have...stars in our eyes...and throwing caution to the wind.
Big sister tries it first. Whee! Sure enough...it was F.U.N.
Go, Katie!
Molly is a crazy dare-devil.
SaraGrace slides down with a bit of drama... Surprise, surprise.
J-Man careens off the side
Now here I must stop and point out something you may not have noticed.
Jake.
He is standing in pretty much the same place in each of the above pictures. He was too scared to go down.
We encouraged him to try.
He refused.
We cajoled. We pleaded.
He remained unmoved.
But eventually...ever so slowly...he began to edge over to the top of the slide.
And then his sweet sister, Molly, gave him a gentle kick in the pants.
It was just what he needed.
Crossing his arms in an effort to exude bravado. Yeah. We weren't fooled. Look closely and you can see Molly's foot in the back of his pants. hee!
And down he goes! And it primed his pump...to use an old phrase. There was no looking back after he realized that it truly WAS fun.
After a bit, we did have to move the slide to flat ground. Sadly, the kids were sliding off the end of it when it was on the hill and were tearing up the grass and getting all muddy.
Rats.
The slide was not the best activity for Zoey. She couldn't wear her leg on the slide for fear of tearing it (the slide, that is). She couldn't get enough speed hopping up to it and trying to slide. She did a lot of army crawling through the water but finally we decided that she needed someone to pull her. Jillian quickly volunteered. Love that girl! Eventually Molly got on the other side of Zoey and it worked great!
Dancing through the raindrops
The girls watch as J-Man goes flying by them
Time for a graham cracker break
Prune-y little feet covered with grass
They had a blast! They have played with it for three days in row--which was a blessing because Jeff has been gone since last Wed. He is coming home tomorrow (woot, woot). The kids have been really good in spite of a nasty virus that traveled through them with a fever, sore throat, stomach pain and headache. It wasn't strep--just a yucky virus.
I love summer!! I can't believe it's already August. WAAHHHH.......
Oh...and by the way...we were told this week that Kate will not be having surgery. After reviewing Kate's case, the surgeon did not feel it was worth the risk to do the surgery when Kate's current procedure (the fontan) is working so well for her. We are pretty relieved. I just didn't have peace about it. Maybe the timing is off--or maybe there will be some new technology in the future for Kate's heart.
