Pool, Pool, Pool, Beach, Pool, Pool, Pool

Well, that title pretty much sums up our last week... it's been hot and humid, and we have done almost nothing but swim! I feel like I've been in vacation mode lately because my days have been arranged just like they are when we are on the Cape... get up, pack lunches, go swimming all day, shower around 4pm and throw on a tank top and running shorts, and then make a quick dinner. And Chad often takes the boys swimming again for another hour after dinner. I tell ya, all that money we spent on swim lessons all winter is feeling like a very good investment right now. Both boys are very comfortable in the water and are swimming freely. I still feel like I want to be somewhat close to Parker while he's swimming, but Brandon just goes all over and hangs out in the deep end without me. Brandon's also doing handstands and somersaults in the water and swimming through my legs and all the kinds of fun pool stuff that I loved when I was a kid. And still do. It makes me really happy to see them enjoying swimming so much, since I spent pretty much every day of my childhood summers at the pool.

We had a great 4 day weekend with Chad... the highlight was going to the beach on Tuesday. It was brutally hot that day - over 100 degrees and super humid. Even at the beach, you pretty much had to stay in the water the whole time to deal with the temps. We had a lot of fun playing in the waves... there really aren't many waves on the Cape beaches, but this time we went to a South Shore beach for a little change. Parker would get knocked around a bit by the waves and want us to hold him or help him jump over them, but Brandon held his own. We spent about five hours at the beach and then drove home, stopping for ice cream on the way (the creamery was OUT OF PEPPERMINT ICE CREAM - I was appalled and disheartened and saddened by this temporary but painful development - now I feel like I want to call ahead before I go and make sure they never run out of my beloved flavor again).

So, Wednesday was Chad and my anniversary, but we didn't do too much to celebrate. I made a lasagna and salad in the morning before we went to the pool, and Chad almost missed this somewhat-special-for-a-summer-weekday-night meal because work was crazy that day. In the end, he literally ran and caught a train that allowed him to make it home for dinner. But, then he had to work all evening... so I barely saw him on our anniversary. But, never fear, we have a sitter scheduled for next week so that we can escape the daily routine for at least a few hours and concentrate on each other.

The boys are having a great summer. They are having so much fun together. Right now, they are working on a "baby amusement park", which is sort of a small-scale version of Santa's Village/Storyland that spreads between their rooms. It's really adorable and creative... they have set up various toys to act as rides, like the antique cars and spinning cups; they made little port-o-potties out of krinkles and put them strategically around the park; they laid train tracks around the whole thing just like at the NH amusement parks; they are using game pieces to be water fountains and trash cans; they even have a "noise wall" (like on the interstate) that goes around the park so that neighbors won't be disturbed. They started working on this yesterday afternoon when we got back from the pool around 4pm and they didn't stop until dinner. After dinner, Chad took them swimming again, but as soon as they woke up this morning, they set back to work on it. And here it is, 8:30am (they got up at 6:30am), and they are still going! I'll have to stop them soon so that we can eat some breakfast.

Brandon has been reading alot too this summer. We printed out the reading challenges from Borders and Barnes & Noble, and he already finished the Borders' one. He had to read 10 books and then fill out the form with the titles and such, and then we took him to Borders to redeem the form for a free book. Pretty cool of the book stores to do that. And of course, we also bought each of the boys a book while we were there, which is probably exactly why the book stores do it. Anyway, it's pretty funny to see Brandon pack a book to take to the pool, just like Chad and I do. If he needs a little break, he can get out and read a few pages until he's ready to swim some more. My little baby is getting so grown up.

So, the original plan was to take the boys into the city for the day to hang out around our old stomping grounds in Brookline, but since the forecast is once again for 90's, high humidity and lots of sun, I'm thinking that walking around the city all day doesn't sound so good. So, we'll do that next week and instead, I'll make up another batch of pasta with pesto (the boys and I love having this as our picnic lunch - that's what we took to the beach, and I need to use the rest of the basil), slice up some pineapple and watermelon and grapes and head to the pool. Doesn't that sound divine?