We Made a Bike Wash!

Last week I sent J a link for how to make a bike wash thinking that it would be a super fun thing for the boys to enjoy.  Last weekend he made it a reality!

For two afternoons, the bike was was in action.  The kids had a blast zipping up and down the sidewalk going through the sprayers, sponges and streamers.  All of the PVC came from Lowe’s.  I found the colorful sponges at Walmart in the automotive department.  The blue fringe was a plastic tablecloth from the dollar store that I cut up.  The short green fringe was a luau decoration also from the dollar store.  The pool noodles are dollar store purchases as well.  I didn’t tally everything up but I’m pretty sure all of the supplies were less than $50.

I blew bubbles and shot shaving cream at the kids as they went by.  Of course ice pops were distributed as well 🙂

One of our neighbors even brought his bikes down for a washing.  He gave each of the boys a dollar for letting him use the bike wash.  It was so cute!  They boys were thrilled!

Heck, even I gave it a try!

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Beachy Sandy Fishy

We rounded out our Spring Break with some much needed beach time!  J arrived home from DC on Friday evening just in time to enjoy the gorgeous sunny weather.  After a week of violent storms (for us) and snow (for him), this outdoor time was perfect.

I did a lot of sunning myself (with plenty of SPF, of course)!  I managed to finish The Paris Wife and start Water for Elephants while lounging around on my beach blanket.  I enjoyed the first novel very much.  Ernest Hemingway is a fascinating character.  Larger than life, really.  I liked this glimpse into his early years with his first wife.  It’s historical fiction so I’m sure not everything in the novel happened exactly the way it was portrayed.  But I enjoy imagining Ernest as a young, tortured, brilliant, ego-centric young man.  I’m only 25 pages into the second novel but I’m already hooked.  I always imagine my great-grandfather when I read stories about the Great Depression.  So, I’m totally connected to this story right away 🙂

For three days the beach fishing went off!  T-bone caught everything from a bonnet head shark to a stingray to a whole bunch of whiting!  I caught a teeny whiting and an itty-bitty pilchard…  T-bone is definitely shaping up to be quite a fisherman!

J entertained himself with a bit of SUK-ing (Stand Up Kayaking).  It’s not a real sport but it’s his take on SUP-ing (Stand Up Paddle Surfing).  It was entertaining to watch him catch and ride the small waves to shore.

Each afternoon we’d return home sandy, soggy and exhausted.  A jump in the refreshing pool helped everyone to clean off and perk up again.  It feels like summer is here already!

Summer Activities Continue

As a Floridians, we have four seasons too: hurricane season, love bug  season, tourist season and summer.  Summer activities pretty much go on all year long.  Last Saturday was no exception.

Big Red asked me to watch his kids for a couple of hours while he worked on a proposal for work.  In true Big Red fashion, he didn’t begin work on the proposal until day it was due…  Since the weather was sunny and in the mid-80s, I decided to break out the Slip ‘n Slide and whip up a batch of homemade play dough.

I love that we’re not cooped up in the house.  Sure, I’d love to sip some hot cocoa by a cozy fire but that is just not how we roll here.  We embrace the chance to run around in our swim suits all day long in October!  And with four active boys at our house, that’s just what the doctor ordered for my sanity!!!  😉