Beating the heat

Everyone, meet the Villepigue’s.
Villepigue’s, meet the pool.
Together, they're my secret weapon against east coast pre-summer scorchers.

Heather and Jimmy have two adorable girls, Sienna and Kayia, and I love that they're completely head over heels for their kids. Having worked with families and children, I can tell you it's a rare and refreshing thing to see parent's who haven't lost that “Wow, I can’t believe we made this” feeling toward their little one's. That's not to say Heather and Jimmy don't get their share of headaches, but at least they still actually like their kids.  And what's not to like?  Look how cute the kids are!

Also, I love the way they invite Brandon and me to share in that love. I snapped away on my camera all day eagerly trying to capture a glimpse of all this happiness. But let’s be honest, these photos don't do justice to the real deal. That's something you have to experience, not read.

Jimmy throws the girls so high!  Kayia let’s out a funny little exclamation of surprise and Sienna's smile doesn't miss a beat. We figured it was lunch time when we saw little ms. bag lady scavenging through the “mom bag.”

We happily obliged.  Besides, lunch time gave me the opportunity to serve and savor my latest Trader Joe’s organic fruit purchases, and it was sooo yummy!

I'd say Sienna agreed too, because she didn't need any help polishing off the better part of a 2lb container of strawberries by herself. I even took out the Cool Whip, but Sienna refused to try it.  Some of her daddy’s fitness habits must be rubbing off.  Kayia on the other hand…

I’m fairly certain I created a sugar monster out of her. At first she was a bit hesitant, having never tried Cool Whip before, so she cautiously stuck out the tip of her tongue for the first taste. After that, each dip went a little deeper, the dollops grew a little bigger, and before long, her strawberry was tossed on the ground and she was swishing both hands around in the bucket. There's even one picture below that captured a moment when she started baby talking to it. They're officially now BFF's.

During lunch the temperature peaked at 98F, so it wasn't long before we hopped back in the pool.

By this time, Faith got home from school and hopped in to join us!

Sienna was smitten with Faith!   She’s was the cool, older playmate…

… the professional thermometer reader…

… and the comic relief. What else is new?

We knew it was time to call it a day (and make plans for the following day) when the sunshine faded behind the trees, little toes were pruned into pink raisins, and diapers sagged soggily between chunky baby thighs.

There were a few tears (more from me and Heather than from the kids), but we survived.

So bring on the next heat wave!  I’m ready for it, as long as I have my secret weapon.