Gorgeous Day

We had a lovely day yesterday. The Eldest and 3 other girls from her Girl Scout troop met at the local craft store to pick out items for SWAPS they wanted to make and I was in charge of chaperoning the meeting, which, as a not very active co-leader, is not usually a job that falls to me. (There was one other mom with us too.) I got such a kick out of hanging out with the girls! I helped them brainstorm to figure out what they wanted to make, made a few suggestions, reminded them to factor in the cost per item, and then hauled them all back to my house after they made their purchases to get started making the SWAPS. They are for an upcoming Camporee with their service unit and the theme is "HORROR". (It's for older girls so they won't be scaring any Brownies!) They bought little tiny ziploc baggies and filled them with items for a "Supernatural Survival Kit". They put in little water drop stickers for "Holy Water" (you'd be amazed at the stickers they have out now), a clove of garlic, half a toothpick for a "Wooden Stake", a silver bead for a "Silver Bullet", and a beadish thing shaped like a canine tooth- they threw that in for a "Werewolf Fang", just for fun. They also included a little description card printed on cardstock and splattered with red dye/inky stuff to look like blood and finished it all off with a large safety pin. They worked outside on our patio picnic table and the weather was very accommodating.

After they left I didn't want to go in so we all went on a bike ride to a park that's just up the street. The little ones played on the jungle gym and swings, The Eldest wandered around by the lake enjoying the view, and DH and I sat on a bench keeping an eye on things. (The Niece has been away all weekend; she's been spending the night at an apartment at the barn where she works so she can help with a horse show.) You couldn't have ordered a more perfect day; the temperature was mild, the sky was blue, and the kids were getting along well without all the sibling squabbles they fall into from time to time.

We peddled on home then DH and I went out for an additional walk for just the two of us; the day was so clear we could see the contrails from the shuttle launch with the colors from the setting sun reflected on the stream of smoke. We spent part of the walk puzzling over an odd puff of smoke or cloud or emissions from the shuttle or something; we never did quite figure out what it was, but listening to DH talk about it and try to figure it out reminded me once again of one of the things I love about him. He likes to figure things out; he puzzles through and worries with it like a dog with a bone until he comes up with an answer or solution. I'll never forget the first time he took me home to meet his parents. They fixed a meal for us and we were sitting around talking afterward, finishing our drinks and chit chatting. Someone, his brother, I think, asked where the water in a glass of ice water is the coldest, and set off a long debate. Is it around the ice cubes? Does it sink to the bottom? I don't remember what the conclusion was, but I was fascinated by the discussion! His whole family has a level of intellectual curiosity that I absolutely adore. He's also like this with friends. He had a work/study job while he was in college and several of his co-workers were PhDs. They would go out after work to hang out and have these debates that would just blow your mind! I could never get a word in edgewise, which was frustrating, but other than that listening in was incredible. They just didn't talk to each other the way I was used to hearing people converse. They could disagree on a point and argue it to the death, but respectfully, then they would be agreeing on the next point, then back to disagreeing, and I think over the course of the time they were getting together they probably had all of the world's problems solved. They talked about everything, too- current events, politics, physics, math, psychology, trivia, you name it. Ah, the good old dating days!

But I digress, and the day continued. We even got to go out to eat for Date Night, something we've been neglecting lately, followed by a Tivo movie to finish up the evening. I didn't get anything done around the house, but I sure had a great Sunday. :)

PS: If you look at the launch photos, go down to about the 15th one to see the weird cloud.