too cool for school

I know we're in a perpetual drought, and I'm surprised the cops didn't show up, but we had to have a little cool down yesterday afternoon.

floor time

locomotion

per Courtney's request

Yesterday, we upgraded our water-fun situation thanks to Betsy's gracious loan of her truck.

Goodbye front porch.
Hello cabana.

demonstrating the enormity of a truck that just went by

once again, Macon opts for indoor activities

staying cool, low rent style

A while back, I gave Jed a plastic tub for some water activities. I thought he'd stay out of it and just pour water and play with it that way, but since swimming lessons, he's been getting in. Yesterday, I was wishing it was big enough for me, too. And please note the low-rent "bathing suit": inside-out undies.

And how muggy did a 100-degree day turn after a brief, sunny downpour?
I think this picture tells the story.
Macon preferred to stay inside and contemplate more highfalutin pursuits.

we're back, again: always wear your seat belt!

While we were in Minnesota, Grandma and Grandpa got into a little bump-up. (How's that for understatement, Grandma and Grandpa?) So we visited them over the weekend. I'm not sure how much help a 3-year-old and baby are, but they were spirit-lifters, and on Monday morning, Grandma fired up cartoons on PBS and Jed shared her sofa time.

Jed was pretty captivated with Grandma's boo-boo and their ambulance ride and he repeatedly compared her knee to his own latest knee scrape. In fact, he told me "I have fun lookin' at Dranma's boo-boo," and I fully expect that the next time he skins his knee, he'll ask for an ambulance ride.

One good thing did come out of it, however, when Jed presented Grandma with an opportunity to tell our car-set-Houdini that Grandma and Grandpa could have been hurt a lot worse if they hadn't had their seat belts on. So far, it seems to have made an impression because since then, I haven't been informed, from the back seat, that "I not wearin' my seat belt."

the last batch of duluth pictures

grass! sun! long pants!
ships! water! bridges!

how big was that ship, Jed?

at the downtown playground
happy

unhappy

unhappier

and I'm back

at the Duluth Zoo
the yellow car on the train was already taken so they settled for green

back to the lake for more rock throwing

don't worry
if you want to throw rocks in Lake Superior, Jed left at least 17 on the beach

and back at home, Bob Barker . . . oh, I mean Jim, unveils ride #2 to cries of jubilation

and finally, a quiet moment with Marmie making loubia (Lebanese green bean stew)

more from duluth

Only one day in Duluth was kind-of gray, but Marmie had a great magnetic dress-up doll for Jed, complete with six outfits: pirate, knight, police officer, firefighter, construction worker and super hero. Jed loved it, and went back to it time and again during our visit.

later that day, we headed downtown to an arcade

watch how Jed cuts some corners with skee ball
first, I'll get a ball . . .

. . . then I'll just carry it up the ramp . . .
. . . and roll it from this point

After that day, we had great weather so Jim and Marmie took Jed to Lake Superior for some rock throwing lessons.

At one point, Jed headed for some older boys and Marmie went on high alert.

Jim, Marmie, and Jed

a float plane over the lake

On another outing, we visited a park with hiking trails and a pond.

Mama and Jed watch a deer (not visible in the picture) head back into the woods.

Daddy and Jed look for fish in the pond.

And back at Marmie's, Macon enjoys some fresh air.

And there is still more to come, so look for another post later today or tomorrow.