Say (grilled) cheese

It's been hot here. H-O-T, hot. And hot means summertime, and summertime invariable means shady outdoor fun, at least when the cooling but stuffy air conditioning is getting particularly...well, stuffy. So what's a girl to do while hanging out 10 hours a day alone with a two-year-old? She remembers a great idea her sister-in-law had and pops the small tent. Not the big one; that one can sleep an army. While we're an energetic and noisy duo, we are certainly not an army.

Yesterday, I packed a basket with grilled cheese sandwiches, noodle salad, chocolate milk, and chocolate yogurt (yes, indeed), and we headed to our outdoor dining spot. Karis was thrilled at first meeting of the tent. She ran from one corner to the next, and with six corners in it's hectagonal shape, she bounced around a lot. Then she inspected the mesh windows and decided it was a squeal-worthy coincidence that we could be both indoors and outdoors at the same time, but still have a view of the back of our house from our new piece of real estate. Very fun.

I finally put my camera down from photographing the event, only after she had looked at me in the midst of my snapping pictures and said, Cheese! I don't know why I was so surprised she knew exactly what to say. She is, after all, going to grow up empathizing with the rich and famous on this issue of being photographed. We then lay there and stared up at the tree tops through the open roof. It was a rare, relaxing moment between us.

I knew it was time to head indoors when she tried to cuddle with the picnic basket. I'd say the walk home was reasonably convenient, given the quick pace at which she showed her true nap-worthy behavior.