Sand and Sea (or chlorinated water)

I don't plan to post every 24 hours just because I have a new camera, but I guess I won't rule it out. It's been a very photogenic day. Yesterday, I had to make a trip to Sam's. When I have an errand like that to run, I have several strategies for success, each of which typically has an equal chance for disaster. Strategy #1: wear her out. Immediately before going to Sam's, I took Sophia to the park to swing and play in the sand. She does typically get dirty, but I figured it was worth the risk. As soon as she walked into the sand, she plopped down on her back in the sand directly in front of a mom, dad and baby boy. You would think she gets NO attention at home, this one. You can see the baby legs in the background of this one.

Anyway, between that and pouring sand directly on her head, she STILL has sand coming out of her hair, even after two baths!

Here's a little artistic shot I learned from Casey. It just picks up the one color - in this case, pink. Casey's nearly perfected it, but I'm starting with very bright colors. Seems easier.

Just so you know, Strategy #2 is buying BBQ Baked Lays for the cart ride. No pictures of that, but just imagine the red BBQ dust mixing with the flecks of sand already on her face....

Today's fun was bittersweet. Our friends Mike and Gena and their baby Jacqueline (also known as Grand Columbian) are preparing to return south to Springfield. They have been living in Broadway Village, which, as most of you know, Erick and I started out. Sophia and I finally made it to the pool today. The girls are so different in nap schedules that we simply haven't been able to make it work until now. I was glad we finally did, though. Baby Jax was mesmerized by Sophia's constant blur of activity, and Sophia would make frequent stops to check on "Gena's baby."


At the pool, Sophia was hilarious! Honestly. She hasn't spent any time this summer in an actual swimming pool, so she was very confused why she couldn't just walk in it. Once she figured that out, she just started kicking like a joyful maniac! I swear my thighs are going to be black and blue tonight from her rapid fire kicks. I couldn't find her floatie thing from last year, so I just swam her around the whole time.

She loved it. She blew bubbles and laid back and just had a lot more bravery and natural understanding of the water than I expected. Anyway, it was a very good time. I'm sad to see them go, but it's just another reason to visit Springfield. If only we could ever drag ourselves away from our house....