Playing outside...

Well, summer has struck again. Today it was 130 degrees, give or take a few, and the sun peeled the paint off the house. Without sunglasses, a local guy went blind from what was described as nuclear flash, when he went to get the paper this morning. The clan went to the beach on Saturday and tried to beat the berating temperatures. We, of course had to take in Art in the Park, in Holland, prior to the beach. This event was an awesome reason to spend our savings on cool trinkets cooked up by some guy named Lou, who loves to hang out in his wood shop.

Bunch of Wooden Swords: $ 36.00
Pile of Clothes for Dolls: $ 24.00
Some Weird Look'in Lawn Thing: Don't ask

But, right after that, we headed out to the beach. 2 to 4 footers rolling in with the cool breeze, was just what we were after. We did not count on the waves being full of seaweed, bark, medical supplies, and old tennis shoes. Ah, nature in all its glory. It was good enough though, as the 72 degree water was better than our sweltering home. Plus, Dad got to change into his suit while in the car. Did I mention the parking lot was full, and the windows are not as black as he thought. Boy, the tourists from Iowa got a tale to tell. A few hours after arriving home, it did become apparent that Dad also forgot sunscreen on himself. Paying for it now. Glow in the dark paying for it.

Grandpa and Grandma R. came in last night to spend some quality time with us. They rolled up in their new sled (I have been told that sled is a cool and current term for car). We enjoyed their short time with us, and have hopefully convinced them to take us to the Bahama's next year. Hint: We prefer the royalty suites...just in case they are reading. The kids do love it when they are with us and we were able to take them to the exclusive, VIP only, Culver's restaurant for lunch before they traveled away. Oh yeah, didn't know Grandma knew how to play 4-square, and really had no idea she played with such an aggressive streak.

Today, we took in the dune rides, just for something different (See picture). Pretty sweet riding in a car with no top or windows. We all came away with inspiring and not quite right hair styles. The view from 300 feet toward Lake Michigan left us without words. It was a cool 2 minutes before the bickering fired up again. It was worth the trip and nice to know things like that exist only 10 minutes from home. All in all I would say we are pretty lucky.

Signing off to get some Aloe...back is burning again. Hopefully, the peeling process starts soon.