It started with a picture, cut and glued Wednesday morning.  David was so excited to see it that he could barely pay attention to our violin lesson. 

By Thursday we HAD to go to the only known playground in the Houston metro area with an excavator in it.  So, even though Matt had just come from there, that evening after dinner Matt drove us all back to Sugar Land. 

The playground had a train, too.  Of course.

Suburban paradise!

By Friday we needed excavator underwear, drawn to specs.  (A few days ago, for kicks I drew a steam locomotive on David’s underwear, complete with side bars, whistle, and bell.)  First I drew the template under direction on a piece of paper.  When I was done, David grabbed my pencil and drew in the smoke.  That part is apparently very important.  Then I drew the picture on some David-sized underwear with a permanent marker (NB, I should have used a real fabric marker or laundry marker, as the permanent marker bled a bit later).

David found it satisfactory, and put it on right away.  (He has aimed to wear it every day since.)

On Saturday morning, Carmen needed special underwear, too.

Burned out from drawing heavy equipment, I also drew a longhorn and horse for balance.

I had one more underwear left, and David requested a bulldozer.  It’s so easy to make him happy.

Then after some consideration, Matt took David out to Northern Tools to buy their last sand excavator.  We thought it was well worth the $20 to not have to tell him multiple times a day no, we love you, but we are so NOT driving out to Sugar Land right now so you can dig and redig a bunch of pebbles, and well worth the $20 to not have to drive all the way out to suburban paradise every time David had the urge to dig (which this weekend is about every five minutes).

Carmen and David were very happy with the purchase, especially David.  He and Carmen took 10-minute turns digging up the mulch.  (That project in the background is the new playhouse and storage closet, a.k.a. David’s tractor garage.  A bigger garden is next.)

I went back to work, and Matt started warming up dinner.  Carmen came downstairs to see me, and put her hands on her hips.  “Daddy says we can go to the beach now,” she said.

Oh, really?  Hrmm.  That didn’t sound like a half-bad plan.  I was tired from working, and needed to get out of the city a bit.  The beach after dinner is very pleasant, with the light pleasant and the breeze refreshing.  Plus I missed the spontaneous drives that Matt and I used to take before babies, before AVMs, before life got so serious.  I closed by book and ran upstairs.  “Let’s go!”

He was warming a big stack of tortillas on the stove.  “Carmen said you want to go the beach now?” he asked.   It was already late. 

“She said you said . . . “

“No.”

“Oh.”  I looked around.  “Well, let’s go, anyway.”

“We have to leave in ten minutes, then.”

And off we scrambled.  C&D put on their swimsuits.  David got so excited he put his legs through the arms of his and got stuck.  We threw the food in casserole dishes, loaded up and the back with the wagon and excavator, and zoomed south.

That is how we got to try out our excavator in the sand

while Carmen and Matt took a dash for the water.

We found hermit and sand crabs

and played until the breeze died down, and the mosquitoes chased us away.

Happy Mother’s Day.