Cabin Fever is Not Forever

We were so tired of being cooped up that we went insane and tried to play outside this afternoon.

For those of you who aren't aware, it is hot out.

My friend Veronica and I were trying to figure out what to do with our children today. Even though we were both aware of thunderstorm warnings, neither of us could think of anything appealing that involved staying inside. Perhaps that's because we've been doing inside things for about five days now, and the children have boiled up to a level that is intolerable even to me. Benny has lost his ability to walk through the house -- he has to run, ride the scooter, roll, or just do something that seems like ricocheting from object to object, all while humming distractedly, and Sadie is plaintively asking to go to the "Claydrowned?" which means... of course... playground.

So since it's 90+ degrees outside and as humid as a camel's underpants, we decided naturally to go picnic, playground, and ride bikes at the lake by Mt. Trashmore. Here's a picture of the children on their bikes:



After the picnic, playing on the playground, and the 2.25 mile bike ride around the lake, which had us parents melting into a puddle on the side of the path, the kids were not discouraged. In fact, having come full circle back to the playground again Benny immediately leaped into action and when I called him to the van, he said, "BUT MOM I NEED TO HAVE LOTS OF FUN." Fun in the heat of the day, in the middle of the summer, in the South. That's what five days of rain will do to a person, if the person is six years old.

We're home now. The baby is asleep in her bed and the boy is actually being still, playing his Gameboy under a ceiling fan. It's so quiet in my house. You, too, can achieve this quiet today only by skipping out to a local playground in between these rain storms. Just don't forget the water bottles. We went through plenty of liquid -- and not the kind that falls from the sky!