Tie-dying and swimming - fun!

We had a nice day yesterday. I had gotten the idea that Ian and I could tie-dye at home and he's been begging to do it ever since I got the kit. So in the morning I went to Walmart and got the rest of what we need to do it (bucket, rack, 100% cotton shirts). We watched the instruction video, Ian picked out what styles he wanted to try and we started rubber banding. After soaking the shirts in the dye fixer (soda ash) we got to work on applying the dye. I was kind of messy, which I had feared, but using a plastic drop cloth really worked. I ended up taking over, but he really participated quite a bit. We made 4 shirts for Ian and 3 adult shirts. They're resting overnight in their plastic bags. I'll post pictures later once we see how they turned out.

We were just finished when Samantha called and invited us over to swim with them. We took a quick dip in our pool just to cool off and then we gathered our stuff up and headed over. After a rainy week without the heater on, their pool was a little bit too cool for the Jake and Ian, but we all splashed around a bit anyway, before Ian insisted on getting out and getting dressed. Samantha ordered pizza, which Ian didn't care for. I admit, it wasn't the best pizza I've ever had, either. The boys ended up playing on Jake's playset (and eating chips and popsicles) until almost 8:00 before I forced us to leave. It's hard to persuade Ian that it's bedtime on these long June evenings, when it's still full light at 8:00. Jake and Ian play really well together for the most part. They spent a lot of time playing Ben 10 (or other superheroes) and attacking and killing me. Apparently, I'm an evil alien zombie and must be destroyed.

I'm grateful for playdates with friends, and long June evenings.