TravelingMel

It's hot. Not Africa hot. Not southern US hot. Not even Livingston in August hot. But, it is still hot.

The City pool is still closed--and probably will be all summer--and the river is way too high for swimming, so Anders and I headed to the Best Western to use their pool. When we got there we were told "there was a minor accident and the pool will be closed for at least 3 days to disinfect it."

Minor accident? Three days? I've worked around pools before and even when some kid poops or pukes in a pool you can shock it with chlorine and have it up and running in a matter of hours. (Not that I'm anxious to jump into a poopy or over-chlorinated pool...). What could have happened?

So, we went to buy dog food instead. They have air conditioning there, so it's just like swimming. When the clerk rang up my purchase I was surprised--no shocked--to find out that the price of a 40 lb bag had gone from $32.99 to $49.99. Needless to say, after this bag, the boys are switching to a more economical food. Rigby has had almost 7 years of good eating and Diesel almost 5, so I think that's all they can really ask for. $50 dog food? They go through 2 bags a month.

Plus, Rigby eats such nasty stuff anyway (and by that I mean carcass--did I mention the absolutely disgusting tapeworm I pulled out of him last week? I almost threw up.) his body probably won't register the lower quality food. And Diesel finds his own gross items to eat, so he's no better or worse off than Rigs.

So, I guess Anders and I will play with the water table this afternoon. He'll be plenty happy, but I'll miss being weightlessly submerged in cool liquid.

The saga continues. On Sunday of Father's Day weekend we packed up all our junk and gave Henry his Father's Day gifts. There were several from me, but the best ones were the hand colored card and handprint washcloth from Anders.

Henry with his hand printed wash cloth and hand drawn card. And Anders.

After breakfast at Shades we headed through Grand Teton National Park and into Yellowstone. The Tetons were blanketed in snow; if you only saw the mountains you would have thought it was the middle of winter, not the middle of June.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at Grant Village.

Anders tries to stuff a banana in H's soda to make it less toxic.

Anders fell asleep after lunch so we drove as far as we could and pulled over at the first pull off when he woke up. I pity the fool who does not get Anders out of the car when he wakes up. He is often a delightful boy, but when he wakes up from a car nap--watch out. Norris Geyser Basin was our first available stop, and so while it is always crowded mid-day in the summer, we stopped anyway.

The locals sometimes take up the road and cause traffic to stop.

Anders tries to remove Henry's sunnies while Norris Geyser Basin gurgles and splashes in the background.

Just seconds after a young elk broke through the crust.

The elk seemed to be ok.

Even in mid-June the low hills behind Norris were covered with snow.

Anders walks the boardwalk at Norris.

Anders points out where my nose is. He can also point to mouths, eyes, ears, hands and belly buttons.

During a break, Anders picks up rocks and dirt...

...then deposits them in their rightful place.

I congratulate him on a job well done.

A little out of order, but here is post from Saturday...

Yesterday the UPS man dropped off a water activity table at our front door. It was a gift from Anders' cousins Harrison and Colton. I was pretty excited because I've been wanting to get one for Anders, but haven't rushed out to find one since it has been so rainy.

As luck would have it the clouds parted yesterday, the sun shone and Anders got to try out his new toy. Then he and his dad played with it again today.

Shoeing up to go outside.

Scooping water at the water table.

Dumping water back into the water table.

Drinking water from the table is just as fun as scooping and dumping.

Father-Son self-portrait.

After some water table fun we headed down to Sacajawea Park for a 2nd birthday party for some friends' daughter. After a quick round of "Happy Birthday" and some cake eating, the kids headed into the playground for swinging, sliding, crawling and jumping. Anders primarily dug in the dirt with a plastic spoon.

The birthday girl claps after blowing out the candles.

Party-goers wait for the cake to be cut.

Anders enjoys a piece of birthday cake.

Party at the park.

As I was walking home after picking Anders up from daycare it started to rain. Again. I think it has been 40 days straight. We are hoping to send out the dove soon.

Since my plan for going to the park was squelched, we are spending another afternoon in the house. This town could sure use an indoor kids gym or something fun.

Rigby looks on.

Anders smiles.

Rigby licks his chops.

Anders drinks.

Anders relaxes.

Mother's Day gift Anders made at daycare. Rest assured his hands are not backwards in real life.

I'm sitting at the table trying to finish an article on planning and designing a garden. Here's what I am dealing with:

Henry is trying to talk me into getting a malt to appease his guilt. I give in and agree to eat some Ben and Jerry's.

Then he slurps said malt in my ear.

Sllllluuuuurrrrrrrppppppppppp...the blessing and curse of living behind Mark's In-N-Out.

He is correcting my grammar as I type.

There are strange noises coming from Anders' room (an hour after he has been put to bed). On the first visit I discover him sitting silently holding the plastic guard that keeps him from biting the crib. There is another one on the floor.

A few minutes later I hear the blinds rattling. He must have heard me coming the second time and hit the deck. As I walked in the room (with the camera) he stands up and pretends he has been sleeping all along.

"What, me? I've been sleeping this whole time. I'm just getting up now."

"No, that's not a smirk, I'm just glad to see you."

"I'll just lay down now and I'm sure I'll doze right off..."

Now I'm blogging instead of writing for money. I guess I only have myself to blame for that one.