Time outside

We haven't been spending too much time outside lately. It's been extremely hot these days and this afternoon when I went to get the mail I noticed it didn't feel quite as bad as it has been. So I looked on the computer and saw that it was only 91 outside, and the humidity must have dropped some as it just felt better, so I told the kids it was time to play outside. We tried going outside to the sandbox yesterday. I got an extension cord and hooked up a large box fan on the edge of the sandbox so were able to tolerate about 30 minutes outside. But then the fan wasn't quite strong enough to overcome the extreme heat and humidity so we went back inside for some more time in the cool basement.

But this afternoon it really felt nice. Nice in a way that only can be experienced after having a few days of a heat index around 100 degrees. It was cloudy so we were able to play in the driveway as it generally is quite hot with the asphalt on a sunny day, but the cloudiness made it bearable. And it was a lot of fun. The kids raced (on foot or various self-powered wheeled vehicles) from the garage to the edge of the driveway and went back and forth and around and around. Oh, how nice it was to be outside and not be dripping with sweat even when sitting still. The kids still got sweaty, but we had a grand time outside for about an hour.

Here's Matthew upset that he can't play with the jump rope (Sam was playing with it). The boys don't really jump with the rope, they use it to hook things to their bikes or as a rescue rope when one of them needs rescuing and the other comes over and attaches the rope to their vehicle and tows them to safety. It's quite a tough game, but they have a lot of fun with it.

Sam is posing for a picture after some serious racing. His fastest time from the garage to the end of the driveway is 7 seconds and he is fastest on foot. Hmmmm.

And this is the face Abby makes when she is asked to smile for a picture. You're better off just taking a picture rather than saying, "Smile, Abby!" because this is what you will get.

And here's a senior-photo like picture of Matthew when we were resting on the steps after some hard playing. The boys were putting on shows on the sidewalk in front of the house and the other kids and I were watching from the steps.