After realizing that the hot days weren't leaving for a while I took a hint from Tatiana and my mother {who suggested huge muck buckets on our little deck filled with water... } and improvised a bit with the kids... {oh, and I ran out and bought some skirts... how could I have forgotten about that summer staple?!? Thanks ladies!}
We live on the ground floor of an apartment building, and have a little cement slab to call a deck and a few feet of grass that's not really our own but gives us some green.
I dug out a few bigger bucket type things and filled them up with freezing cold water in our kitchen sink. The kids splashed and poured and lounged and cleaned the chalk off of our patio. There was no need for instructions.
Our complex is nice, but not all that friendly. No one really waves as you drive by, or asks how your week is going. But yesterday and then again this afternoon, my kids brought smiles to those walking their dogs and just passing by. They waved and said hello as they saw my little ones splashing and not caring that they didn't have a back yard. Making the most of a hot summer day and a little creativity.
I'm so often put off by what we can't do here, in our space. But there's so much we can do. Thank you, Tatiana and Mom, for reminding me to make lemonade out of lemons. Nothing beats a little lemonade on a sweltering summer day ;)