Too much fun

Too much fun? What's that mean?
It's like too much money, there's no such thing,
It's like a girl too pretty, with too much class,
Being too lucky, a car too fast,
No matter what they say I've done
I ain't never had too much fun.
                             -- DARYLE SINGLETARY

What do you do on a super hot, humid Saturday in Georgia on the weekend before the pools open up? You open up one yourself! That's what you do! And that's what we did.  We pulled out the blowup backyard squishy pool, lugged the garden hose across the yard and loaded it up.  Thinking shade would be nice and protective, we picked the perfect little covered spot on the top of the hill, gathered our beach toys, now known as pool toys, tossed them in, and splashed right along.  Until......we realized how cold that garden hose water is!! BRRRRRR....  Poor Cari didn't even want to sit down.

But have no fear, her Daddy knows just the way to get her warmed up and used to those ice chips slapping her little legs, somehow strangely forcing little giggles out in the midst of cries that seemed to say, "why is this so much fun??" Because you love your Daddy to peices, and he loves you to even more peices.  And no matter what happens, he always seems to make you laugh.

Even Chad got a kick out of the squeals arising from his big sister.  He's a bit more of an observer than a hopper-inner like his sister, so we let him sit on the sidelines for a while so he could see how much fun the pool truly is. He sure did have a blast.

Mommy is a bit of a kinder spirit and would rather sit with Cari and dig water up out of the pool in the teeny sand buckets and count how many dips it takes to remove every drop from the pool. 

Time for little Chaddy-Chad to take his first dip in the pool.  Not too sure of this, looking into the eyes he trusts the most asking the peircing question, "Will I be okay? Am I okay?" Not knowing that in just a couple of years he'll be plowing through the yard breaking every blade of grass, blazing a trail to get there as soon as he can, to dive in head first with his forarms skidding on the bottom of the pool getting bruised by every bump of unevenness in the ingrowing grass. He trusts. He believes. And he goes in.

It didn't take him long to realize how amazing the pool really is. Especially with his lovely and energetic sister by his side to encourage him on.  We *tried* to create a zero-entry pool for him. Give him the low side, give Cari the 'deep' end of the pool and they are both happy.  Well, not really. There just isn't a flat spot that exists in our back yard, so this is what we had.  However, notice there isn't really any water on the upper end of the pool.  That's not much fun.  Sitting wet on blue plastic.  Hmm.  Change of plans - we haul it up to the deck where there is still shade, but at least it is flat.

Cari's favorite part was filling the pool with the garden hose.  She held out her little green bucket for Daddy to fill with the hose, and then she'd dump the bucket into the pool.  She is such a little helper. We'd still be there now, if we let her fill the entire pool that way. 

Once again, Daddy took advantage of the fun and the giggles that emerge.  That's not the pool, Daddy-o, that's Cari!

Proof that Daddy loves it too.

That fresh garden hose water was once again freezing cold.  All the warmth we collected out in the yard was dismissed and we loaded up the pool again with the icy goodness.  Cari's legs show the coldness.  She still insisted on standing, no sitting for this little bee. By this point, I do believe her little teeth were chattering. But she simply refused to get out. Besides, she had worked so hard to get the water into the pool.

And as any great little girl would do, she must take the honorary swig of water from the hose.

We did attempt to get a timed family photo, which was not such a success.

Chad enjoyed all of the squinching and squealing from afar, bouncing up and down and up and down and jiggling his teeny little feet, crossing them left and right, every once in a while letting out a yelp of happiness.  So happy that he enjoys outdoors as much as his sister.

No matter how cold that water was, raging out of the hose, Cari was thoroughly disappointed that it stopped.  Where is it? Where did it go? What happened to the water?  Ahhh.....Miss Cari, I see the culprit. Yes, approaching the stairs..... 

Chad decided it was time for another dip into the ice bath. This time with much more confidence, knowing what was to come in those next few moments.

And it makes it that much sweeter when you having something bright, round, and yummy to munch on to rub those gums.  Not to mention cold, after sitting in the water for a while.

Cari's next feat was to fill the basket up with water. To fill our little sand buckets to the brim with water, and dump, dump, dump into the basket to fill it up.  She never understood why the water never rose any higher. We dipped and dumped for at least 20 minutes or more.  She never tires. Miss persistence.

When she finally realized that time was ticking and the basket was not filling up any more, she decided we should try to empty it using the same simple process. Dip water out of the basket, and dump into the pool.  After a good 10 minutes of this task, I asked her how much water was left in her basket. She picked it up to show it to me, and ta-da!!!! It was empty!!!! Boy was she SO proud of herself. My little worker. She never gives up.  Miss persisntence.

Time to turn in and prepare some nutritious grub for the hungrly little tummies growling away.  With my hands busy in the sink, chopping and stirring, I realized the silence that suddenly fell among the house.  Took a tour, and this is what I found.  Two boys, zonked.  Not 15 minutes after our pool extravaganza.

And when I say zonked, I mean ZONKED.

But, no, not Cari. She never tires. She carries on.  I found her watching pictures of herself slide by on the screen of her days at the beach.  The pool bringing up memories of "Cari's beach" last summer.  She never tires. She carries on. Miss persistence.

And the basket sits, waiting patiently, for the next afternoon of squeal packed fulfillment.