Happy, Hazy Indian Summer Afternoon.

This early afternoon I needed a nap. So I took a little one while the boys built Bionicles happily around me.

Thankfully I awoke refreshed and with some new energy. More often than not, naps make me feel cranky when I wake. And the last couple days I have been fighting off the crankies, sometimes not all that well either.

The boys and I decided to ride bikes over to our neighborhood park and play baseball. We gathered our gear, grabbed the dog and their bikes and we were off. Halfway there Angus got too hot, not surprising. So he took off his shirt and spent the rest of the day shirtless.

Despite the haze from the nearby forest fires, the weather was actually quite pleasant. Not to hot, and with a small breeze. Bees buzzed from a distance and the song of the crickets could be heard from the creek side.

It really felt like an Indian Summer afternoon, and it was so nice.

I pitched the ball and the boys took turns hitting and then catching for one another. They both had some really good hits too, even on my mediocre pitches. When we tired of that we explored the creek side and shared a snack.

Then the idea was to play soccer with one tennis ball and three goals. Each of us used our shoes as goal markers. The tennis ball started in the center of our field, we started at our goal lines. On the count of three we raced each other to the ball and fought to score a goal. There was lots of laughing as our bare feet fumbled to force the tiny tennis ball in the direction of our choosing. It was fun, and that game lasted quite a while, until the wrestling began.

And those boys wrestled and wrestled. They had grass and leaves and all sorts of debris covering their sweaty heads and bodies. It was a good match, and a very entertaining one as well. Then they got really hot, so I poured/threw water at them from the water bottle.

Before we biked home they rode around in the empty parking lot for some time. We learned that when Angus runs his feet along to move his glider bike, he likes to call it the "tip-tap" ride. Oscar and I both liked that.  Then we made our way safely home.

It was really nice to be with them and have the energy to really be with them too.

Gosh I think these boys are terrific. Sure they get mad at one another occasionally, but it passes quickly and they are buddies again.  I hope they always know how lucky they are to have one another too, because they really are a blessing in each other's lives (and ours). I try to remind them of that often.