First Day of Summer

Today the kids and I:
Went to the mall, so Emma could take her report card to her new, favorite, overpriced girls' clothing store, Limited Too. With a report card of passing grades you get a five dollar discount on a $24 t-shirt. I am starting to get a glimpse of the difference of raising a daughter versus two boys who don't care what they wear.

After the Limited Too, we went to Picture People for our free sitting and portrait. I have used a coupon to get my one free 8x10 about 6 times now and I don't even think they try to sell me prints anymore. They check out my history on the computer and give me this glance like, "cheapo...." That's their problem, if they keep putting coupons out where I can get them. Anyway, I usually stick to the white background shot of the three kids. The Chipper Photographer always tries to talk me into colored backgrounds and props, but I know I'm not going to even consider buying them. Nor am I in the mood to buy shots of each child individually, but after explaining this to Chipper 18-year old Photographer for the sixth time, I decided she could knock herself out and shoot whatever the hell she wanted. Ultimately she got Joey to take his shirt off and put his sunglasses on top of his head and pose on a mini surf board. Whatever. Joey is such a ham, he jumped on the board and immediately struck a surfer dude pose. After that we went out into the mall to kill an hour and wait for the prints to be developed.

From there we visited Build-A-Bear, Pottery Barn Kids, a bookstore. Then, when it was time to check the pictures, and I'll be damned if the Joey on the surfboard wasn't the cutest thing I've ever seen. I ended up falling into the trap for two extra sheets of prints, so maybe Chipper-18 year old-Photographer knew what she was doing.

Then it was off to the Capitol for lunch at the Capitol Grill. That is my kids' favorite restaurant. It is a very utilitarian type of place. The food appears to be subsidized because you can get a whole club sandwich for about two bucks. And the decor is very corporate-looking. But this is where the movers and shakers make our laws. A lobbyist even came over to say hi to us. They have pizza, hot meals, sandwiches, salad bar, but best of all for the kids, a soft serve ice cream machine. The first time we went there it was a Friday afternoon, and they were cleaning out the machine and you could fill up a bowl with as much as you could possibly stuff in it, for about $2.00. I built a structurally sound confection about 8" tall. Since it wasn't Friday today, we just paid by the ounce, but the kids still dream.

Besides the ice cream, they love the building itself. Emma always fantisizes that we've moved into the Capitol and it is our house. Max loves to lean way too far over the railing in the upper rotunda making my legs feel weak. Joey likes the stairs. Then there's the best part of our visit, the vast expanse of thick lawn to run on. Undulating hills of green. I ought to just drive over every day and enjoy all that irrigation the citizens of our great state have paid for.

Our last stop was an art gallery. They loved it, but we were all getting tired, so we came home. The first day of summer celebrated. I dream that we can have an adventure a day this summer. But who knows, I get lazy, the kids get tired. But we'll see what we can do, stay tuned.