Waterslide! (week 285)

The summer water slide arrived this week!  It has been a tradition in the Carfax neighborhood in past years, to pool money for a giant inflatable water slide each summer.  Since no single family could afford or get enough use out of a slide on their own, we would buy one slide and rotate it to someone's lawn each summer afternoon.  By the end of the summer, the slide would always smell terrible and be covered in duct tape where the seams had pulled-apart from the stress of dozens of kids climbing, jumping, and sliding all over it.  I am not sure what the electricity or water bill is associated with running the water slide for a day, but it is definitely one of the fondest neighborhood traditions.

This year, so many of our neighbors have moved or kids have grown older that we bought a scaled-down version--the Plummet Falls--single slide and split it with the Armstrongs and the Hubers.  It is actually a perfect fit for Christopher and the two-year-olds; and probably a good fit for another year or two for those of us who are already five.  Christopher is fearless.  Whereas last year he hung-out in the pool of water at the base of the big slide...this year, he didn't hesitate to scale the Plummet Falls and take the slide head-first.

We spent the weekend around the house watching baseball, eating barbecue, and of course painting.  Christopher continues with his passion for the creative process--whether it is building towers with the wooden blocks, painting with the water colors, or working with his Playdoh, he is a Renaissance man.  He also love to do all things without his clothing.  If he had his way, he would never wear another pair of pants.  He continues to struggle with his separation anxiety as well.  It is almost unbearable for him to be separated from his mother for more than a few minutes.  I know what it is like to go through that stage--mine didn't last as long.

I continue to be obsessed with baseball, the Angels (the stadium in particular), Albert Pujols, striping the backyard like a baseball field, drawing baseball stadiums, fireworks after home runs, and how I compare to the world (e.g. who is taller, faster, and can throw farther).