Slip n' slidin

The other day our awesome neighbors let us use their backyard grass to set up our slip n' slide for an afternoon of splashing fun for the kids.  It never ceases to amaze me how even just a small amount of water can be hours of fun for these three.

Had to get a picture of Emma's little butt covered with tulle.  It looks more like a ballet skirt than a swimsuit but I love it.

I loved that Avery of course would take off at one side of the yard running at full speed with the orange sliding mat in hand.  Then she would hit the edge of the slip n slide, slam down on her stomach holding the mat in front of her and slide to the end to splash.  "Ouch!" she would say grinning ear to ear and laughing as she ran back for more.  Deke and I shaking our heads laughing and reminding her for the umpteenth time to lay on the mat and slide across.  Laughing so hard as she flew repeatedly across the grass and catapulted herself onto the plastic, always hanging onto the mat out in front.  How she did not bruise a rib or knock the wind out of herself is beyond me.

Of course she like always was sister extroardinare and helped Emma figure out a way to slip and slide baby Allie.  Allie was only brought on this little trip after an extensive back and forth with between Emma and I on the reasons why Ariel was not fit for this sort of activity even though she was a mermaid.

 Emma was completely thrilled at Ave's idea to strip Allie to her birthday suit, put her on the mat and give her a nice shove.  She found it much easier than her first plan of holding Allie's arm and dragging her down the length of the slide while she got sprayed in the face by the sprinklers.

Hunter of course at some point felt that all the girly splashing and involvement of naked baby dolls must balance out with a good pair of shades and some squirt guns.

 He insisted that he was too big and his body was strong enough to handle it without a mat.  He slid until he finally admitted his stomach was getting a little sore.

 After much coaxing and watching that "even Allie can do it" Em agreed to hop on and take a ride with assistance from daddy.  Hilarious to watch.

 I love this one where she has her matching sun hat on and Deke is pushing her by her fluffy rear end.  The kids played until their tummies were tired and fingers and toes were well pruned.  It was a nice change from loading up and dragging everyone to the pool.  It's just a bummer that any and all outdoor activities for the next couple of months have to involve water in order to be outside.  Summer is in full swing in AZ.