Memorial Day Weekend

In the USA, there is a saying that Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer. Well, if that holds true, we are in for one heck of a hot summer, considering the weather we have been having over the past 7-10 days! Each day easily made it in to the 80s (27C +), which finally forced us to turn on our central air conditioning! A friend commented that since we are from Africa, we should be used this heat. True, in South Africa we had many days like these, but it was also uncomfortable there - without having the luxury of air conditioned homes! At least here in the USA, most modern houses have been built with central air. So if you have it, use it! Otherwise it's like driving around in first gear all the time, even though your car is equipped with 4 other gears... (that's my theory anyway!)

So what did the McCarthy's get up to on this warm long weekend?

On Saturday morning, I took Nathan to his second T-Ball match, where he had a great time, AND scored another run for his team. His team played better than in their previous game, but I don't think it was enough to secure the win. In Nathan's words: "It doesn't matter if we win or lose, as long as we have fun!" Pretty mature for my 5 year old :) His mother must have taught him that, because those that know me well, know I have this competitive streak in me that I struggle to subdue at times :P

After the game we came home, and a friend arrived to drop off their above ground pool for us. They had recently upgraded to a better, bigger model, and offered us their old pool. Of course we jumped at the chance, and soon we were filling up the pool in our backyard! This pool will definitely make our summer more bearable as the mercury rises past that 80 degree mark! Unfortunately it wasn't yet full enough to enjoy after I mowed the yard, but at least now I have an incentive the next time I cut the grass!

Josh enjoying a friend's antics in the old pool, while we are assembling the new pool

On Sunday, it was Liesel's turn to "play" with a new "toy". We had recently bought a carpet cleaner, and Liesel was determined to get the entire house's carpets spotless before the end of the long weekend! So what better time to get carpet cleaning, than when the 3 boys are out of the house for a few hours. At 8:45, I got the boys ready, and buckled into my car, and we headed to church, leaving Liesel to spend some quality time with her Hoover. Church was great, with an excellent preacher, and absolutely phenomenal worship set, led by my good friend, Ian. Afterward, we made a detour past a store to pick up more carpet cleaner for Liesel! Nathan's afternoon involved petting an alligator, and playing with some snakes at a classmate's birthday party. The friend's parents had arranged an animal trainer to bring some of his animals to entertain the kids! Nathan had so much fun, that he wasn't keen to leave when Liesel picked him up 3 hours later!

While Nathan was cuddling up to some reptiles, Liesel, Josh, a couple of our friends, and myself went for a leisurely bike ride at a local recreation center. It was a perfect afternoon for a ride, and a great way to spend time with our friends. Once we had made a couple of laps of the rec center, we headed back to our house for dinner, which consisted of salmon on the grill, corn and salad! The evening presented us with the some more great weather, and we enjoyed the food and fellowship on our patio. After our company left, and Josh headed inside for his bath, Nathan and I initiated our pool with the first swim! It was soooo refreshing! I know we are going to be enjoying this pool for a LONG time!

Monday morning was a lazy one, with the boys only getting out of their pajamas around 10am. Once the boys were presentable, I rallied them together again and headed to some more stores, giving Liesel the freedom to clean carpets again without interruption. We visited three stores before returning home for lunch. After lunch, Nathan spent most of the afternoon in the pool, while Josh spent most the afternoon looking for objects to go and drop into the pool! Liesel even ventured into the pool with Nathan after spending an hour and a half in the sun weeding! For dinner, I grilled some pork chops that Liesel had marinaded, and it was one of the best pork chops I had ever had. What a great way to end a long weekend. Now if only every weekend was a long weekend......