Out and About in the Summer Heat

In spite of the mini heat wave we had this week, the kids spent a fair amount of time out and about in the sun, mostly along the coast where we felt marginally cooler.

On Monday afternoon, both kids went to Freedom Park again. Eliza’s getting too big for her princess bike. The kids spent about three hours looping and leaping up, down, over, under, and through the course.

We spent Tuesday morning at Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard. The morning started off cool and overcast but quickly warmed up when the clouds burned off. We managed to get sunkissed without getting burned.

On our way home, we witnessed a fire south of the freeway near the Dallas Cowboys training camp.

Our friend Carrie and her boys came over on Wednesday to visit and play. Fergus made himself a pest, but we managed to keep him indoors. 

He has a hard life.

Hallie got her hair cut on Thursday. She wasn’t happy with the result.

We found a bike for Eliza at US Bike Co. It’s bigger than her princess bike but lighter. She took to it right away, and she was off to the races when Hallie took the kids to Freedom Park in the afternoon.

The new-to-her bike came complete with purple chain, grips, and tassels!

We forgot to teach her about the hand grip brakes. She went sailing into a chain link fence at the end of her first run (better that than the street!). Characteristically, she picked herself right up and declared, “I’m OK,” before continuing to ride non-stop for another couple of hours.

On Friday, Mike was gone from home all day for work. Mom and the kids went swimming with Grandma M. Even in the shade, the heat sapped a lot of our energy. Ugg.

Mike had his last class of the semester on Saturday. While he taught, Hallie and the kids escaped the heat by going up to Turtle Park in Santa Barbara. They fed the ducks and turtles oatmeal, which both types of animals gobbled right up.

Later on, the kids went to California Cartwheel Center for kids’ night out. The parents had themselves a nice dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. The hostess complemented Hallie on her hair, which boosted her spirits. Short hair is a bold look, and Hallie pulls it off well! 

This afternoon, Mike and the kids built dragons with our Legos.