Monday, June 29, 2020

Hot Hot Hot!

Oof, summer is really bringing the heat this year. Earlier this month I heard we had 4 90+ degree days compared to 6 in all of 2019! And this week it's going to be in the 90s nearly every day. I do like summer, but this is a little bit intense! I'm not complaining, it's just... um... HOT. Like too hot to go to the playground after about 9am because the equipment is too hot to play on - try explaining that to a playground-obsessed 2 year old! People are often surprised to hear it gets hot and humid here in Minnesota, but trust me - it does! We are a unique area of the country as we get get down to like -20F in the winter and close to or sometimes over 100F in the summer!

We did manage to keep cool/entertained this past weekend. Even though it's pretty steamy outside, being outside with a toddler is better than being cooped up indoors!

On Friday night, I got his water table set up as soon as we got home from school. He loves this table so much and it take all of 3 minutes to fill it up. He gets drenched but I don't care since it's the end of the day. This is definitely one of the best purchases we've made for Paul!



On Saturday morning, after Facetiming with my mom, we headed out to water my garden and stopped by the park. He was a bit limited on what he could play on since all the slides are metal so any in the sun were too hot to go down. But he still entertained himself for 25 minutes. Swinging was his favorite activity that morning.


One positive aspect of the heat is that it's making things grow like crazy in my garden! Check out the radishes I harvested on Saturday morning. I should have taken a picture of them before trimming them. They were so huge that Phil thought they must be turnips. I was worried they wouldn't taste good since they were so huge (I thought they might get a 'woody' taste) but they taste excellent. Phil doesn't like radishes and Paul tried a bite and immediately spit it out. So I get them all to myself! They are the perfect vessel for guacamole!!


On Saturday afternoon, we went to Phil's HS friend's home on a lake. I failed to take any pictures! We hadn't seen this group since January so we had a lot of catching up to do and I was busy keep track of Paul. They have a beautiful home on a lake with a massive lot (over an acre) so there was plenty of room for us to all socially distance. They were excellent hosts - they even bought some bottles of bubbles to entertain the kids. So Paul was in heaven when Phil's friend blew bubbles for Paul for a good 20 minutes. We also went in the lake which was crazy warm - 88F!

On Sunday morning, we headed to the local lake where Phil swims. Last weekend didn't go so great as we went to the beach with some playground equipment that is too big for Paul and it was just too distracting for him. This time I coaxed him into the water and talked him into letting me take him out further so we could practice what we've learned in swimming lessons (which are on a very grand pause until COVID is under control). He had the best time and kept asking to go on his tummy so he could swim. We were in the water the whole time Phil was swimming the course which is probably 30-40 minutes. Now that I know he enjoys lake swimming we will go to the beach even more often on hot days. I had talked to Phil about how we needed to turn him into a lake kid so I am glad he took to the water well this weekend. I grew up going to the lake and if this was a normal summer, we'd be at my parents at least once a month. So I am glad he likes the water now, especially since we have decided to visit my parents lake home for a week in August. We will all get tested for COVID before going up to make sure we don't infect my parents!



On Sunday afternoon we spent more time outside after Paul's nap. Paul played with his water table and some other outdoor toys and sort of helped while Phil and I weeded/put down mulch (we are super behind on putting down mulch since the deck project took up much of May/June).

I'll close by sharing some pictures of Paul wearing MY hat. As you can see, it basically fits him! So yes, that means we pretty much have the same sized head. My head is smaller than normal - like I had to wear youth goggles when I did my triathlons and it's hard to find glasses that fit right because I have such a narrow face. Paul is super petite - like 4th percentile for weight at his last Dr appt - but his head is and has always been huge. Like 99th percentile. He is starting to grow into it but when he was a baby, he was a total bobble head. We do not know where he got his huge head from because Phil's head is also on the smaller size. Hopefully big head = big brain!



How is the weather in your neck of the woods? Is it crazy hot/humid? It's currently raining here and I am SO happy because I need a break from the heat for at least a day!

10 comments:

Grateful Kae said...

I hear you on the heat!!! We are getting it here too in WI. I'm not complaining either though, since I'd rather it be hot in summertime. I agree with you that we are extra tough here in the midwest because as you said, we get below zero temps in the winter and this HEAT and humidity in the summer!! That's awesome that Paul loved the lake so much. We aren't really "lake" people exactly as I didn't grow up doing too much of that, but it sure looks fun. I can see how it would be super fun to go a lot. I'm so excited that you are going to your parents' house! That's great. I hope you all stay nice and healthy and get your negative test results. :)

Lindsay C said...

Its been raining here ALL day. I am not too far from you though. I am not a huge fan of the heat and I honestly can't wait for it to be the fall. I know so many in Minnesota love heading to the lakes, etc. But there is just something so much more enjoyable about sitting outside on a lounge chair in the cool fall air with a fire going, don't you agree?
Looking forward to hear how your trip to the lake goes and to see if you guys can get back to swim lessons soon! :)

Jeanie said...

Those radishes look divine. I love radishes and mine were a big bust this year (maybe it was the old seeds). It's hot here, too -- very. I went swimming today and was surprised the water was as warm as it was. As long as I'm here, no complaints but heading home for 48 hours tomorrow. Ugh!

I love it that Paul is loving the water. I hope all goes well for your lake visit -- it sounds needed!

Gracie said...

That's great that Paul is into the beach now! And he's so cute in your hat. I have a tiny head, too, but David's is so big that he has to wear size XL hats...maybe Nico will be somewhere in the middle!
We hit the hot days the last few weeks. Spring was long and cool this year, but we're back to temperatures in the 90s from early morning until evening (it was 92 when we took a walk today around 7pm). I always know it's coming, but it's still such a surprise! And it was really gross out for a few days thanks to a layer of saharan dust that blew over. Between that and the humidity we could barely breathe!

Stephany said...

I have a small head, too! I have to order special-size earbuds because the regular-size ones won't stay in my ears! Haha. And the next time you need glasses, try Warby Parker - they have specifically narrow sizes for glasses for people like us. I finally have glasses that don't extend super far beyond my eyebrow line!

I can't believe you're dealing with such intense heat right now. Oof. It's expected here in FL, but it just doesn't seem right that you guys have to deal with it when you already have such long, awful winters!

Marlys said...

It's hot and humid here, too, so will be good to be at the lake starting tomorrow! I just came back yesterday to take care of things around the apartment, but can't wait to head east!
It will be great fun to have most of the family here, except your family & Abby's, but 3 out of the 5 is better than expected!
We're having so much trouble with deer at the lake this year, as they were eating my petunias, hostas & hydrangea blossoms! Then they decided to rip the main branch of both of our apple trees which were growing so nicely! I talked to the tree expert at Swedberg's and he told me what to do to get them to grow correctly, but said it will really set them back. So many are complaining about their flowers being eaten by deer this year so we're not alone. GRRRR!!
I hope you have a fun 4th of July weekend and know you will be missed!

San said...

Ha, 90+ days are "nice" here in California... we had a whole week of scratching the triple digits last week and it was just so hot. I'll take the 90+ days any day! I am guessing you do have a bit more humidity where you are though... so, I get that.

So glad you got out and spent so much time near water. That always helps on hot days!

katielookingforward said...

I need to get better about visiting lakes in the metro. I'm glad you'll go to the lake, and good call on taking tests prior to the visit. My parents are very laid back about it all (which is a different kind of concerning) but I'm glad I'm able to visit now and then.

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

We are on week two of 90 plus degrees. Which is fine because I hate winter. It just packs a huge emotional punch where we could have been in the lake and boating this summer like we had planned if the dam hadn't broken and ya know destroyed homes, a town and two lakes. So that's been sucky. Thank goodness for our pool. And that we've had one for 10 years since everyone wanted to buy one now because of Covid and no lakes. We are actually thinking of selling our camper right now because we had plans to replace it with something nicer but they are in demand right now and we have no plans to camp this summer because of Adeline. We will just hope we can find what we are looking for next summer. But we have put more of a focus on buying a lake house now and I'd take that over camping any day!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Radishes with guacamole - mmm, good to know, as we are growing some radishes. (We didn't actual plant them ourselves. We bought pre-planted garden bags from a local orchard.) The weather has been beautiful all Spring and Summer here (and we had an early Spring). We're getting little spurts of rain here and there, which is good, as the two or three previous years had very little.