This summer is very different from my past two summers with the girls. The first summer was jammed packed with visits to the Oregon Zoo, OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), the Children's Museum, Oaks Park (an amusement park for little kids) and parks (including Waluga, Washington, Summer Lake, and more). Last year was much of the same minus the children's museum since the girls informed me that they were too old for it. There was the introduction of indoor pools such as Conestoga and Southwest Community Center. But this year there hasn't been a visit to the zoo or OMSI. There's been no pools or parks. This summer has been all about the Lake Oswego Swim Park.
I ask the girls each morning if there is something special they want to do. Their immediate answer...swim park. The lake opens at 12:00 and if you're not there soon after good luck finding a parking space. Both Monday and Tuesday it took some time to find a spot but today we hit the jackpot.
On Monday, the morning started off slow with the girls playing quietly while I got some things ready for dinner. It was my job to cook that night. I looked into my plethora of cooking options and came up with my mom's world famous TACO SALAD. I prepared all the ingredients in the morning so that I could come home from the swim park and throw it together. I picked up around the house, even making Auntie Mar and Uncle Mark's bed. I folded a couple loads of laundry and fed the girls lunch. Then it was time to hit the water. Previously I had mentioned that my job at the lake was a pretty simple one. I'd go, set up the blanket, and the girls would take their towels to the dock where they would hang out in between dips. Well that has changed since the addition of the noodles. Now the girls actually want me to hang out with them and go swimming. On Monday, they even chilled with me on the blanket wanting to hear stories about my students. The excitement peaked when a teenage boy was kicked out of the park for using inappropriate language.
On Tuesday we again hung out at home but decided early that we would eat lunch at the swim park so we wanted to be there as early as possible, especially since it was to hit the low 90's. While I made lunches, including PB&J for Paige and Roast Beef for Gwynn and I, Gwynn and Paige spent some time on the play structure. Gwynn took out her new guitar and sang a tune about Nana. She looked like a little folk singer, too cute. Look for another post including the words to her song.
Paige listening to her sister's song.
I thought I had everything covered, drinks, water, snacks, fruit. But as some of you may know I tend to second guess myself and so I kept checking things over which added time to our departure. We ended up at the swim park by 1:00 to find that there was not a single parking space. People had already started parking in the "No Parking" zones. We drove down the road twice but with no luck. I had heard that there was a church that you can park at up the hill and then walk down a path to get to the swim park. I tried to find it but again was unsuccessful. On our last loop by the swim park we saw someone get in the car to leave. This made me thrilled, especially since it was an end spot and I wouldn't have to parallel park anywhere. We got down, set up, and hit the water. Gwynn and I practiced squirting water at each other with out noodles and Paige practiced swimming all around the pool by herself. We made it home in time to walk down to Pizza Schmizza with Auntie Mar while Uncle Mark went to play three softball games. By the time we got home, I was ready to crash. I sat and finished watching the sox win but my eyes began getting tired. I remained on the couch for most of the night. The sun really does take a lot out of you.
Paige enjoying some noodle time in the lake.
Paige catching some rays.
Gwynn enjoying her Jamba Juice at the Swim Park.
Check out Miss Blue Eyes
Gwynn really likes that drink.
Today was a little different because Auntie Mar worked from home. Although the girls know not to bother her when she has a meeting, it's hard for them to completely ignore her when she's upstairs. After a while of playing by themselves, Gwynn and Paige asked me to play hide and seek. We had fun hiding in showers/bathtubs, behind chairs, and in closets. My favorite was when Gwynn was counting and I was going to hide. I saw Auntie Mar and Paige and I told them I needed a good spot so I was heading to the car. Well instead I hid in a nook in the mud room by the sink. I heard Gwynn come down the stairs and ask her mom where I was. Then I heard her come through the door and got into the garage towards the car. Wasn't she surprised when I wasn't there. This continued a couple times even getting Paige and Auntie Mar in on the act. They all were looking for me until Paige spotted my hair. It was fun and one of the highlights of the day.
We got ourselves ready and headed back to the lake knowing that today was another scorcher. We made sure to leave with plenty of time to get a great spot. We were driving towards the swim park at 12:15 when I noticed cars already on the side of the road. This was a bad sign knowing that this meant it was busy there already. Well wouldn't you know that someone was looking down on us because right in front of the entrance was an empty space. The car remained parked there for six hours. In those six hours the girls swam, ate hot dogs (for lunch), drank a slushy, swam some more, had another slushy, ate some popcorn, swam more, relaxed, swam some more, ate another hot dog (for dinner) and swam some more. I was good about putting sunscreen on them but not so on me. I sprayed myself once but forgot a major part...my face. Needless to say my face HURTS including my scalp. I might have to stay in the shade tomorrow.
Auntie Mar has now added the text feature to her phone which helps us keep in touch while she's at work and we're out and about. Today she texted me to see if she should come down to the lake. Well of course I thought she should, until I realized, as well as her, that I had the only car. My adventurous aunt didn't let that hold her back. She hopped on her bike and was with us by 4:30. Very impressive is that she stopped at the fruit stand for blackberries on the way. She even put on her suit and joined us for a dip.
So that's about all that's happening here. Sleep, eat, play, eat, lake, eat, baseball...repeat again. Tomorrow Paige will have a play date with Hunter. We're going to head to Dipinto a Mano for some painted pottery and then off to the lake for the afternoon.
Until next time, here's a little story from today. Two children, a boy and a girl, were swimming in the lake. They mentioned that they have seen us there before and I reply that we are here everyday. They then mentioned how they like our noodles. I mention that I think they can borrow them from the snack shop for 25 cents. They mention that they are here with their sister and that she wouldn't give them the money. Then they say that she doesn't even go in the water like I do. After a while, the girls get out and I'm left in the water. I mention to Paige that it might be nice for us to lend them our noodles for a little while since we weren't using them. You should have seen their faces. It made me think of a couple things...1. that I'm pretty lucky to be able to have many of the things I want and 2. that these memories that I am making with Gwynn and Paige will last a lifetime. It was a good day!!!
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