Ten-Finger Exercises

short but good time

We didn't get started quite as early as I'd hoped. We never do, and it's almost always my own fault so I can't complain. But the weather here was nice, and we took off a little after ten. Had to make a pit stop in the Dalles, and then on to Newberg for lunch. The girls ate all their lunch and were well behaved, and that made everything else just fine. It was great to see them all, and the food was good too.

Afterwards we went back to their house where Liz was planting her garden. Lucy planted two packages of pumpkin seeds at the other end of the yard, despite protests that she wanted them in the regular garden. She worked pretty hard with the hoe, sprinkling the seeds in the furrows and stomping on them with her green garden boots that she wears everywhere.

Lucy played pet shop with me for awhile-- that was a first that I was glad to see. She isn't usually that personable or interactive. Granted, I did most of the playing and talking, but she played along, added some dialog and made some suggestions. Then she went out and showed me all her tumbling achievements and showed me how she can ride her big bicycle-- like the wind!

Katie played pet shop with Bill while Lucy tumbled. She talked Bill into reading two books to her too, which he loved doing. She is very engaging. Then she poured two bowlfuls of hot water into the kiddy pool and filled the rest with the hose. She wanted more hot water, but Hap stopped her. He said she spilled half of it just getting it out from under the faucet, and the sun would warm it up anyway. Then Katie put on a new swimsuit that came from her aunt Lenore, and her mask and snorkle and dunked her head in the pool. Too cold for her. The dogs liked it though. Irma, mostly boxer, lay down in it.

The next thing the girls wanted was a snow cone, so they brought out the hand crank machine, a bowlful of ice and a bottle of grenadine and got their dad to start cranking. I had picked some mint to take home with me, and we (the grownups) talked fondly of mojitos we have known. Sadly, they were out of rum, but Bill wouldn't have had one anyway before flying. So we put some mint in the snow cones with the grenadine, and had a good time. The girls had disappeared by then, and Hap went in for something and found them snorkling in warm water in the tub while holding each other's snowcone! What a pair!

What do you think? As soon as the weather actually warms up, don't mojito snow cones sound great?