Another Glorious Day!

I'm fairly certain I have my first sunburn of the year... and I don't even mind too much, because it's been WARM! Wonderfully so! It was actually even HOT today-- we broke 80 degrees before lunchtime, and soared up to a humid 85 degrees before slowly dropping back down. Even now, it's still 70 degrees at 9:16pm. The windows are open, and I'm listening to the frogs sing in the pond across the street. Just a week ago, hitting the 70s seemed like an unattainable dream. So despite feeling sticky and sweaty, I am not complaining about today's warmth. Not. One. Bit!

The kids actually didn't have school today, since it was a local election day. When I ask people WHY there's no school on local election days, people blink at me like I'm an idiot and say, "Well, they use the schools as polling places!" Yes. Just like in California. Where school is not cancelled on election days! So I still have no REAL explanation as to why they need the day off, but I didn't mind it at all when I saw today's forecast. A gorgeous day with nothing on the schedule except for t-ball practice in the evening? Don't mind if I do!

I actually ended up taking Maya to the pediatrician this morning, since she suddenly developed an itchy red rash behind her ear overnight. It was close enough to where she was bitten by a tick a few weeks ago that it made me worry (especially since the bullseye rash for Lyme disease can take a few weeks to appear). Fortunately, her doctor took one look at it and assured me that it was just a bug bite-- not surprising, considering how much time we've been outside this weekend. I was relieved. She did, however, take the time to tell me how Lyme disease typically presents itself in kids, and what other things I can do to help prevent it. It's turning out to be a REALLY bad season for ticks, which certainly lines up with what I've seen. Gus treated our back lawn this weekend, so we hopefully won't have any issues out there, but ticks are still out in force on the many miles of trails and parks we have in this area. We live in a heavily-wooded area, and it's just part of life. But I am constantly feeling like I have something crawling on me lately. Ticks are the WORST!!!

Anyway... we got back from the doctor at around 11:30, and both kids were begging to go to the beach. Our town has its own state park, where one of the lakes has a swimming area, complete with a sandy beach. It doesn't technically open for a few more weeks, but you can swim there now "at your own risk." It just means that there is no lifeguard. I was SHOCKED to see that we were the only ones there. We had the entire beach to ourselves! There were a lot of people fishing in other areas, and a family went by in a canoe, but the beach belonged to us. The kids were in heaven!

Anyway, we spent a few hours at our private beach, but then I was literally starting to "feel the burn" (and yes, I was wearing sunscreen). So we headed home, everyone got rinsed off, and we relaxed for a bit before t-ball practice. And then the kids and I went out to dinner. It was a pretty great day! Too bad the rest of the week is supposed to be a lot cooler-- BOO!