Summer de Mayo

Usually it's July 5 that summer starts in the northwest - or at best in June you'll start to get some tantalizingly sunny days during the week and consistently dreary weekends. Oddly this year it's all backwards, and we have our first fabulous weekend in May. It always amazes me how the switch flips and everyone is immediately outside at every possible park, beach, outdoor pedestrianized area, etc.

The boys and I beat the crowds out of the gates by dropping off mommy at work and going immediately to one of their favorite parks, which O has started calling "Singing Edward". It was an epic visit of more than 2.5 hours, with slides, swinging (both regular and a tire one that they both piled onto), a nice little picnic (O picked out a table with a nice view across a large field towards the bike trails; Z commented several times, "It looks like London!"), and more. And then while we were playing, I noticed a fire truck and firehouse ambulance pull into the parking lot sans flashers. We took the boys over to investigate, and sure enough, they were giving tours of the various compartments and of course letting kids climb up into the cab -- both boys were pretty darn ecstatic, and it had been a solidly fun day by 1 pm! Back to the playground for more fun before finally, exhausted, they waved goodbye to the fire truck, ambulance, slides, and swings, to head home for a quiet afternoon. Ah, summer!