The dog days of summer are here as things begin winding down before school starts (in early August, which seems ridiculous) and every week seems to be hot and humid without a drop of rain.

That didn’t keep us from a hot and steamy picnic on Saturday evening, though. A handful of our friends came by Swanson Park’s pavilion to have some food and unpack our collection of yearbooks, which have been sitting in a box in the midst of the pandemic waiting to be distributed. We’d also brought pens expecting some of the kids to sign each others’ books, but they mostly just had a grand time playing on the playground. Aaron and his little friends also decided to run off and explore the nearby wooded trails, chasing a rabbit and then walking along a fallen tree. We also found a giant dead tree that may have been here long before people settled in the area — who now have houses with ornate backyards facing the creek that runs through the park.

It was a nice little break, but the heat kept many of us huddled in the shade of the pavilion before retreating to our cars to get ice cream at McDonald’s before heading home.

The next day, I brought the kids down to grandma and grandpa’s house to help trim a tree. The ash in the front yard had some low-hanging branches that needed clipping, so I clipped while the kids gathered them up for the bin in exchange for some chocolate coins from Uncle Jonny (in-between taking pictures). We stayed a little while longer so Hannah and Aaron could play with some of our old Power Ranger toys, which we got in Happy Meals a quarter century ago. Grandma also decided to play dress-up and pretend to be Pop-Pop before we headed for home.