Splash And Crash

Olivia (left) and Lauren couldn't wait to get the pool filled.
Summer must officially be here because the girls were in their swimsuits in the backyard pool Saturday afternoon.

All that work cleaning bathrooms and bedrooms paid off for the girls in the form of a couple hours of playing in bone-chilling water in our inflatable pool. Mom (pictured at right) spent about an hour holding the portable air pump to the nozzles to get it blown up. And just as soon as it was, Veronica was in it, bouncing between the four walls.

"Dad, this is just like 'Merican Gadeeators," she said.

Once the water was in place, the girls took turns running from the chilly water to the towels and back inside the house - despite Mom's pleas not to track in water.

The one tiny detail both Mom and Dad seemed to miscommunicate on Saturday had to do with the patio table umbrella. Mom set up the table and chairs before Dad put the glass top on the table in place. Mom topped it all off with the umbrella. Unfortunately, the umbrella wasn't seated in its base entirely and Mom's mention of it did nothing to make Dad fix it (he thought she was going to do it).

A couple hours later, a gust of wind swept through the backyard, sending the umbrella aloft - and with it, the glass table. Fortunately, no one was near the shattered pile of glass fragments. So the cleaning continued - with sweeping, vacuuming and a wet wash. As you can see from the photos, it looked a lot like snow. And, as Emily can attest, those glass fragments were heavy!

The toppled umbrella shattered the table.
Everything that was on the table was now amidst the glass.
Emily swept in the safety of her high-heeled sandals.