With Natalia out for a few hours yesterday and me having no intention of entertaining kids all afternoon indoors, we decided to hit the waterpark to cool off. I eschewed the convenience of a 90-second drive for the simpler pleasures of a short walk with three kids in tow--Andres and Celia biking/big wheeling independently, and Lucia in the stroller.
It took about 20 minutes for all of us to travel the three tenths of a mile. Andres took the lead. I was a short distance behind him, and Celia was looking forward at both of us. She was trying hard to keep up but the combination of short legs and a bumpy sidewalk proved to be too much to overcome. Every few seconds I would hear "Daddy I need a push" or "Daddy! My wheels are stuck!" from behind me, and I would turn to find her looking unhappy atop her Dora the Explorer big wheels, matching Dora helmet on her head, strands of black hair streaming out every which way. She issued about five push requests while our house was still in sight. But she eventually got the hang of it, and learned how to drag her Dora bike over rough patches or large gaps in the sidewalk, and the second half of the trip was much more enjoyable for all of us than was the first.
The cold water of the sprinklers was a welcome reprieve after the long journey. I changed Lucia into her swimsuit while Andres and Celia hopped and ran and streaked about, never more than 15 feet from each other though the park was large and there were many different opportunities to get soaked. They bug the crap out of each other when they are home. But on trips like this, when they are focused on having fun and don't have to worry about marking their own territories within the house, they get along famously, and I marvel at how they are growing more independent of me while they grow more dependent on each other.
Within a few minutes they were both back, sopping wet and wearing gigantic smiles. And now it was Lucia's turn to try the water--but not before a massive application of sunscreen, especially on her head. (The poor thing has such fair hair and won't wear a hat for longer than 3 seconds.)
Lucia's always giggly and splashy in the bathtub now, so I was expecting the same behavior here. But that didn't happen; she was content to just sit quietly and watch all the other kids rush by. No splashing and not much talking, either. She did wince a bit when I took her for a run through the giant rainbow mister/sprayer--she tensed up as the cold water enveloped her. But I was too busy laughing and enjoying this time with her, so we went for a few more runs before retiring to the shade for a dry towel and some lunch.
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| Andres and Celia explain the finer points of splashing. |
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| The sunbathers. Also, Lucia looks like my grandmother in this picture. It's uncanny. |
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| Relaxing on a towel, no sisters in sight...what's not to love? |
I fed Lucia her soupy concoction of yogurt, cereal, and zucchini and continued to watch my older two children enjoy themselves on a hot summer day. One of the first times we were here, back in the summer of 2011, Celia was the one wearing the yellow bathing suit and swim diaper; now she was running around in a slightly too-large two-piece, while her younger sister was the one being spoon-fed.
On both occasions, though, Andres took good care of his baby sister. Yesterday, he sat down next to Lucia and tried to show her how to splash; he also stayed with her while I ran back to our pile of stuff to grab my camera. I took a few shots of him and her. This reminded me of another photo I had taken during our first trip here, one of my favorites from the good old days.
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| Andres and Lucia, Summer 2013 |
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| Andres and Celia, Summer 2011 |
We stayed about an hour--long enough to cool off, but not so long that the return bike ride was a disaster. Lucia fell asleep on the walk back. And it looked like the other two could have as well, were they not perched atop their respective vehicles. 20 minutes later we were home and enjoying the A/C. Another good afternoon, another summer memory, likely more vivid in my mind than theirs.
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| Avoiding the paparazzi on the way home. |
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