Mice on Main & Fun in the Rain

Last weekend our constant quest to entertain and exhaust Max led us to downtown Greenville to hunt for the Mice on Main. I wasn't really sure how interested Max would be in locating bronze mice....he doesn't exactly have the longest attention span. But, we set off on our hunt and, lo and behold, he actually got pretty into it. And he was good at spotting the mice too!

Max was a champion statue-spotter by the end of our hunt. Some were easier to spot than others:

Even though it wasn't as ungodly hot as it has been, it was still plenty warm, so after a quick-change of clothing in a semi-private location, Max was really for a cool-down. (Well, we thought he was ready, but evidently this water was a little cool for his liking)

One last stop on our way to the car for some geese and a cuddle:

We had full intentions of ending our Main Street prowl with some ice cream, but 2 hot parents, 1 little boy with a blister, and uncooperative opening times at the ice cream shops resulted in the employment of Plan B....COSTCO! Always a good way to end an outing...and where we were nominated for "Parents of the Year" as we fed our child pizza AND ice cream for lunch. At one point Chris even uttered these un-nutritionally impressive words "Stop eating your ice cream and eat a bite of pizza." Seriously. (Oh, and adding to our qualifications as Parents of the Year, we took Max into Costco wearing his swimming gear and NO shoes - see aforementioned blister).

The morning was wrapped up with a lovely ride home during which Max cried unceasingly at top volume about his blister. But after the application of multiple bandaids with trucks on them, he was ready for a nice long nap. And since no day is complete without an appropriate amount of water-play, we conluded the day in Max's favorite way:

Now, since it's been concluded that Max has a thing (ok, obsession) for water, you can probably surmise that a day of nonstop rain would be his idea of heaven. You would be correct. He had the joy of experiencing just such a day on Tuesday. The rain started while we were out on our morning walk, and continued pretty much through dinnertime with only a few breaks throughout the day. I have no problem with my kid playing in the rain: in fact, I have great memories of playing in the rain as a kid myself. However, he insists that I stay outside with him - he even went to my closet and brought out my galoshes (or, as Max calls them "rain doots"):

By my calculations, we spent a total of around 6 hours outside in the rain (which was, at times, a downpour) before the day was over. We came inside for good around 5 pm and when Chris got home close to 7, my fingers were still quite prune-like! Some of the highlights:

Biking in the rain!!! Rain boots add necessary required height! Now rain boots must ALWAYS be worn while biking.

Modeling the latest in hip and attractive rain-wear.

Dancing like a deranged person in the rain!

Self portraits in the rain - always great for Mommy's can't-make-up-it's-mind-if-it-wants-to-be-curly hair.

Self portrait after SIX HOURS in the rain....looking like some drowned rats.

I think if you asked Max he would say it was, hands down, one of his favorite days of all time. (All time being approximately 2 years). Maybe we should move to Seattle...or the rainforest.

(Please remember that ah-oo is "water" in Maxinese)


And since NO day is complete without a swim...in a fresh rainwater pool....