Be Prepared!

The boys and I have company coming tomorrow. That, of course, has required some preparation these past few days. Our first order of business was to break in our brand new (off-brand) Slip n' Slide, which I can't even say without singing their 1980s commercial jingle:

"Sliiii-pppppp! Slip and Slide!"

As I'd expected, the boys were initially stand-offish when I took them out and told them to take a flying slide down a strange wet tarp in our backyard. That led to my diving in to demonstrate. Then, the boys got involved, and for the next 90 minutes, we three Superman'ed our way to one heck of a good time.

Then, we went grocery shopping today. I took this picture of the adventure, because I love pictures of my boys in shopping carts, and because, as you can tell from this particular picture, those days are numbered. On the not-so-distant day when Jones can no longer bend his lanky little legs enough to fit in those square slots or when Freddie says, "I'm tired of being dog-piled under processed food," I will have to think long and hard about ever going to the grocery store again. How would I do it without some kind of containment?

The final prong in our preparation was for Freddie to paint his pirate mask. He asked if he could paint it, and I said, "Yes," assuming he just wanted to play with it. Turns out, he was making it for ME ... or so he said before VERY quickly changing his mind and saying, "No. It's for Reagan."

So now we have all we need - the entertainment, the eats, and a mask for a sweet young lady that is ENTIRELY not her style.

I'm prepared for a great time.