The Heat is On! or, Thank Goodness for Sweet Frozen Treats!

Most of the kids' activities this week revolved around being outdoors, this in spite of us living at the extreme northern edge of the nation-wide heat wave bubble or dome or whatever. All week Landon participated in the Park Knapsackers 1/2 day camp, where he learned all about the autumn (there were winter, spring, and summer sessions on other weeks). He came back with a golden tan and with something else unexpected: his first bee sting. Apparently he told us about it on Tuesday, but we didn't understand. The teachers said he didn't cry and after some water and a cold compress, he was back in action. Good thing he's not allergic. . . .

Can you find our little man? Hint: he's not in the back row. 

On Wednesday evening, we watched Zeke and Brian play a baseball game. Landon ran around with his friends, and they took pictures while the rest of us chatted and had a picnic dinner. We topped off the night with waffle cone fro-yos at TCBY (love those Waffle Cone Wednesdays!)

These last three are the world through his eyes:

By Thursday it had been so hot for so many days, that the A/C in our little brick house couldn't keep up, and the upstairs felt more like a little brick oven.

It was so hot -- SQUIRREL!! -- ahem, it was so hot that even the squirrels had to slow down and take a break from all that scurrying.

On Friday, we beat the heat by heading down to the pool with Brian and Katelyn and their dad. We didn't let a few uppity lifeguards stop us from poolside shenanigans. To say Landon is a water baby would be to lie. Even Superman had to deal with Kryponite. We took the party over to the kiddie pool in the backyard. Not long after we finally had our fill of the water, it started to rain, and the really oppressive heat finally went away.

On Saturday, Mike and Landon made binoculars at Lowe's while Hallie, Sara, and Chase found goodies at the farmers market. Diamond and Eliza chilled out at home in air conditioned comfort. Later, the boys went down to Belle Isle Park for the annual Stake Pioneer Day Picnic. Landon has decided that swinging really high is his thing. The higher, the better! Later on, we took Diamond to work and then wen over to Derek and Janel's new house before having a bite at Achatz Burgers and frozen custard at Wally's, a place Hallie's friends kept telling her about. Mike loves that at Achatz he can get a very close approximation to a Tommy's chili cheeseburger just by asking for chili on the burger. Wally's was well worth the good press. Hot summer sun + frozen treats = bliss!