Seems the weatherman hasn't been to accurate the last few weekends, so rather than assume we were to get the thunderstorms predicted all weekend (I WISH!) I made plans anyway. The last two days have been gorgeous! Michael had portrait jobs both days, so Douglas and I went and participated in "It's My Park" day yesterday, helping pitch in to clean up, plant, weed, paint, etc ... we were directed to the Grass Planting detail as it was the most kid friendly, and had a ball. We were instructed to scratch up the bare patches with a metal rake, and then scatter seeds. Douglas loved using the bow rake and "grading" the dirt ... insisting on doing it where seed had already been planted, and "turning it into corn". He does love his corn, and didn't seem one bit interested in the idea that certain seeds produce different things :) It was actually rather hard work, the ground was unbelievably hard ... no rain to speak of for days, and we were working on the hill that gets used for sledding in the winter ... nicely packed down! Douglas detoured to tearing around in circles once other kids his age arrived, and digging in the dirt under the trees.
The pizza that had been promised for lunch never appeared anywhere that I could see, so we went to the farmer's market for muffins for lunch, and then ended up at the playground ... there was no way he was going back for more grass planting without playtime. He got nicely burnt, hot, sweaty, and absolutely filthy. I was just prying his fingers off of another girl's play stroller, which she had just come to claim as he finally got his hands on it :(, and about ready to leave, when Nico and parents showed up! Needless to say we stayed another 1.5 hours, slathered on Nico's sunscreen, and went home exhausted. He didn't stop running. Val brought a big bag of waterballoons, and was the most cool mom at the playrground by far, filling them up nonstop for all the kids for about half an hour. It was finally nice and HOT and so delightful!
We ended up meeting Michael at the in-laws for dinner, which he brought in ... in honor of my MIL's birthday. Food was wonderful if a bit different ... all raw/organic variations on things like pizza, eggplant parmesan, etc ... from a place called LifeThyme. My stomach was certanly very happy when I was finished, and Douglas wolfed down eggplant parmesan very happily.
Then my gift to my MIL for her birthday was jokering her husband instead of her in a game of Palabra, resulting in her winning instead of me ... such a kind daughter-in-law, aren't I? Grin. Though if I know her I doubt the victory taste quite as sweet as usual :) We're both rather competitive when it comes to games, seems to run in strongly in both of our families.