Holiday Weekend Fun

When I was a kid, Labor Day weekend was a significant milestone. It was the last of the summer fun before going back to school. Sometimes we had a BBQ, and for years, our family went to Disneyland the day after Labor Day, so there was always something to look forward to.

It's a little different as an adult. For one, my kids have been in school for a month already, so it really doesn't seem like the last vacation hurrah before school. Also, it's still so oven-hot here that summer really isn't ending anyway. We have at least another month of swimming weather. And as the final kicker, Labor Day is one of the days that Terence has to work, even though Monday is one of his regular days off right now.

Still, we managed to have a nice break anyway. M had a four day weekend, so it was especially nice not to have to get up before daybreak. Saturday my parents invited my sisters' families and us for a BBQ and swim. Terence couldn't go-- he was working a DUI detail-- but the kids and I headed up to their house in the early afternoon.

The swimming was a blast for everyone. M and J are really starting to get around a bit on their own, after months of swimming lessons, so I could relax a bit. Well, I thought I could at first. Then, B decided she was going to be an independent swimmer all of a sudden. At first I was really impressed because she could manage to stay afloat for a couple of seconds on her own. However, this really went to her head, I guess, and she decided that she could make it entirely on her own. When my mom and I had both gotten out of the pool, she leapt off the rock fountain into the pool on her own. Unfortunately for me, I was in the middle of eating, and I had to drop my food on the ground and jump into the pool after my floundering daughter. Fortunately, she seemed to learn her lesson and was much more cautious after that.

All that swimming wore her out though. I was down in the basement with J when my mom called me upstairs. B had been keeping her company by sitting on the counter while my mom worked on some dinner preparations. Here's what I found:



B was so out of it she slept there for quite awhile, until I took pity on her and moved her to the couch (where she slept for another hour until I woke her up.)

My dad grilled for us and my mom made fettucine alfredo-- dinner was delicious! Then, the guys (my dad, Jason and Ryan) took M, J, Kylie & Bryson to the nearby airfield to see the airplanes and play at the park. I had B all to myself, and once she got over being grumpy, we had a great time playing together-- for once, just the two of us. All in all, it was an enjoyable break with my family! It needed only one thing to make it perfect-- we'll have to make it up in the future with Terence.