Indendence Day Weekend 2011

Unlike last year, we kept our Independence Day weekend pretty uneventful. Edward and Jennifer took off for Livermore the day before so us Bowers had the house to ourselves. It felt a little lonely, but it was also a nice change. Dave has to work Fridays all of July for logging, but at least we got this one three day weekend. He came home on Saturday morning, actually, because he wanted to stay up in Gualala until his brother's family arrived (so he could say goodbye--for the last time--to their 16 year old doggie, so sad).

That morning after breakfast Eddie and I biked to the farmer's market so he could play on the playground and eat his weight in strawberries. Well, not really, but he DID eat an entire basket of them! While we were there, I met a darling little Indian girl who was recently adopted by a couple here in town. We got to talking and I told them about Cassie's daycare and preschool programs, just in case they were looking for that type of thing for their daughter. It turns out they have already met her and even went to visit her school. Ha! What a small world.

I bought some basil, arugula, and apricots before we biked to the arboretum on campus to feed the ducks. Eddie threw chunks of old bread I dug out of the freezer...but the ducks were too hot and sleepy to eat much. But we got to see a couple of turtles eat the bread in the water. Edward and Jennifer biked over to meet us. We then headed home and they went to the farmers market for breakfast. It was soooooooooo hot that day and I felt bad that I kept Eddie out too close to his nap time. I noticed he'd fallen asleep in the trailer on our ride home.

Dave arrived shortly after we got home so we had some lunch and then Eddie took his nap. Edward and Jennifer went to the pool for a couple of hours and then we went after Eddie's nap. (How funny that we all did the same stuff that day, just not at the same time!)

I can't remember the last time us three Bowers had THAT much fun, as we did that day at the pool. All of us were having a FUN time...usually at least one of us isn't doing what we'd prefer to be doing. Like Eddie's getting antsy and cranky while Dave and I are trying to enjoy a meal at home on the patio...or Dave's antsy to get back home to finish a project while Eddie is playing at the park. But this was SO nice! The pool was shaded by the time we got there (a huge plus on a 103F day) and Eddie was having fun jumping into our arms from the pool edge, "swimming" between us, and scooping up water with a Tupperware container we brought. At one point he was squatting on the pool edge and I was in the water. He scooped water into the container with one had, cocked my head back with his other hand, and then poured the water on my hair like I do when I wash his hair. It was adorable!

Once the pool closed and we were getting dressed to go home, Eddie got away from me and went running down the grassy hill toward the (turned off) splash pad. He was completely naked and screamed that to the entire park: "I NEKID!" Hahahaha, it was so funny. Everyone turned and started laughing.

That night I went to Papa Murphy's to buy some pizzas. Since it was too hot to cook inside, we opted to BBQ them. Eddie was more interested in eating the olives toppings instead of the actual pizza so we ended up opening a can of olives for him, lest he denude the entire pizza of olive rings. Can you believe he actually ate about 3/4 of the can?!

Sunday was another hot, hot day. We walked over to the donut shop for breakfast, Eddie in the stroller and the dogs on leashes. It was 9am and was SO hot outside already. There were no glazed donuts with sprinkles so they lady made one special for Eddie...next time we might not get sprinkles because he ONLY ate the top where they decorations were!

I locked myself in our bedroom when we got home so I could dig through the giant box of Thomas and Friends train toys my aunt gave us. I don't want to give Eddie all of the toys at once because it'll be overwhelming and he'll lose interest. So every couple of months I pull out something new. This time it was track pieces, a car loaded with coal, and Harold the helicopter. Running the trains on the track was a HUGE HIT with Eddie for several hours.

Edward and Jennifer were nice to go to Costco for me that morning...I love having helpers! They bought shrimp, strawberries, corn on the cob, and ribs, all goodies I planned to use in our 4th Feast.

Once Eddie was lunched and down for his nap, Dave and I took off for a movie date. We saw Midnight in Paris and it was really good! After that we got ice cream cones. The Edwards and Jennifer were at the park when we got home and since it was so hot, everyone got to have a "pop" (popsicle) back at the house. Instead of going to the pool that day, we played in the water on our patio (sprinkler, wading pool) and installed a misting system on the patio. We've had the misting kit since before Eddie was born and only just installed it! It is really nice on those hot, hot days.

That afternoon while Eddie was running around the house/yard naked (typical), he ran into the bathroom yelling, "Potty!" So I lifted the lid on his little potty and he PEED! It was so exciting! Edward, Jennifer, and Dave all came running into the bathroom giving Eddie high-fives and clapping for him. It was awesome. And of course, I made Dave take some pictures.Over the rest of the weekend (and into this week) he peed many more times in the potty. Since we have two potties, we keep one in the bathroom and one out on the patio or in the kitchen so he can get to it quickly. Gosh, what a big boy!