Philip and I decided to spice things up a bit, and instead of dating on Friday evening, we made a date for Saturday morning. We had high hopes of leaving James in charge of listening for Mari and sneaking out for some pre-dawn garage sales. Our Friday night was filled with dinner guests and spontaneous fellowship lasting almost until midnight. So we slept in. I cannot remember the last time we were both in bed after 7am....1995? James was still on the high hope plan and rose dutifully to give Mari her morning bottle. He just rocks, doesn't he? We leisurely readied ourselves and were out the door before 9. We hit all the big sales. We drove by some that certainly did not deserve the title "Garage Sale". One house had two old stereo speakers, a plastic tub of toys, and some Christmas decorations. Philip muttered, "That ain't a garage sale, folks!" The garage sales were just intermittent destinations for our morning spent driving and smiling. We shared a late lunch and headed to the house.
While the big kids hosted a neighborhood football game in the backyard, Philip and Ashli caught a couple snoozes in the recliner to the relaxing commotion of televised baseball. Mari and I headed to my "Queen" bed (That's another blog) to start "The Queen" DVD that I've had for days. I've had it so long that not only is it due back, but it has ceased existing as a form of entertainment and now tops my "Gotta git this done" list. Aggravating....because as I sit and type the little blue circle saving my TV screen is traveling around and around Prince Charles' face.
Just as Philip was packing up to take the kids fishing, the neighbors rang our doorbell to invite us to come swimming. There was a vote. The poles were put away and everybody just started stripping.....not me, you understand.....everyone but me. Mari Alice donned her pale pink swimsuit with lavender shoulder straps and skirt trim for her summer debut. We walked across the street and enjoyed the last few moments of direct sunshine, and the first few moments of Mari's life as a swimmer. She had a grand time bobbing around with her dad. I sat comfortably in my t-shirt and jeans and watched. Landen dove off the board and swam the length of the pool with one breath. Luke led a division of secret operatives around the edge of the pool seeking sunken treasure and enemy torpedoes. Ardyn advanced to jumping off the board and swimming to the ladder (sans la floaties). Ashlin is still VERY attached to her floaties, but still accomplished feats of courage on both the slide and the board. Once I dried and dressed Mari, Philip was free to "encourage" the kids in their aquatic skills. There were a few tears, but similar tactics keep our military up and running, so what can you say? I learned to swim in a completely structured manner through my local YMCA/Red Cross. I'm waiting to hear the story of how someone threw Philip over a bridge and hollered, "Swim, boy!"
The GREATEST thing about swimming is its significant simplification of bedtime. If you can get through the ultra-emotional bath time and snack, then bedtime is followed by deep sleep almost instantaneously. That worked for 4/5 of the kids. Luke needed some quality time (plus, navy spies don't burn as much energy as Olympic divers) So I read Chapter One of "Princess Bride" to him. I bought it today at the library sale for 20 cents. We giggled and he finally went to bed.
And there you have it. One enormously fun-filled day and a lovely little blog on which to share it. What more does a girl need? A kiss....see ya!
