Fun-filled Saturday

Even though we were out a bit late last night with a practice-pizza-playground outing, we kicked off the day early with our first soccer game of the season, and everyone played and got along well. The soccer fields are also the community social hub on Saturday morning, so it was fun connecting with people.

M caught a ride with a friend while the rest of us headed home and switched to bikes to go the APF’s Fireplug 500 event in Central Park.

Along with the walk (a short one around the lake), there were vendors with every pet-friendly product or service you could possibly dream up, music playing, and food. We ended up staying a couple of hours while the kids played with their friends on the playground. Then M headed to a friend’s house where she participated in this death-defying activity:

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. She’s sitting in a beach chair balanced on a skateboard rolling down the middle of the street. The street isn’t busy and the decline is gentle, but I bet one could seriously mangle an elbow or knee. Personally, I think the girls’ joy seemed worth the risk. And they did wear helmets, at least.

J and I, meanwhile, followed Cute W to our local farmers’ market, where we bought as much stuff as we could carry while biking, including a dozen ears of corn for $3. It was delicious.

As the weather turned, J made some crafts, including this glorious new duct-tape-and-fake-flower collar for Isis, who clearly didn’t appreciate it:

Reunited, the four of us watched Hugo and ate a late dinner of corn, boiled shrimp, corn, mashed potatoes, and corn. Predictably, perhaps, the girls were exhausted and weepy by bedtime-reading time. I talked them each off their individual ledges with my patented Patience and Serenity (I really was impressive tonight, if I do say so myself), then headed downstairs to finish my beer and write this.