Working on river house today

Dave got up early with the kids and let me sleep in til 8:45 am. What a treat! We got breakfast going and as soon as that was over, we loaded the van full of supplies necessary to continue sealing/painting the new cinder block foundation on the river house. We brought along the kids trikes and a stroller too. We packed lunches knowing we would get hungry later and wanted to avoid going out to eat. Dave even packed the folding table and chairs in the van so we would have a place to eat instead of sitting on the floor, which hurts after awhile. Dave got to work painting and I took the kids on a loooong walk on the trails. Violet was soo excited to get out on her trike and Calvin happily sat in the stroller, playing with rocks, sticks and flowers on his stroller tray. Violet was talking nonstop the whole time, fascinated by the trail. She was convinced we were going into a jungle! The birds were chirping, the frogs were croaking, and we could peer through some trees and see two horses grazing in a field near the trail. The weather was beautiful. Being on that old trail reminded me of the summers of 2006 and 2007 when I would go running a few times a week. Violet was captivated by the trails ups and downs, she would turn in circles as she waited for me to catch up on foot, and we made a point to stop at almost every bench along the way for a water break. We went about a mile and a half down the trail when I made the call to turn around, knowing that we had a long way to go back and she was starting to show signs of being tired and hungry. We went all the way back and an hour had passed since the beginning of the walk, so she definitely got some exercise. Dave made a goal of finishing up painting sealer on one wall so we waited for him to finish up before eating lunch. Violet and Calvin got busy in the sand, and they got SOOO dirty. Violet sat right in the sand and buried her entire legs and feet. Calvin of course, tried to copy her, but wasn't as successful. Either way, both of them were so filthy. We used the neighbor's hose to rinse off and then we ate lunch. Calvin was so crabby, he fussed about everything that was put in front of him, but with some persistence, Dave got him to finish his pears before he got to eat his PBJ. Violet snarfed down her pears (she ate three pear halves!) and her entire PBJ. The littlest things keep kids busy, it never ceases to amaze me. While Dave and I finished up our lunch, they became occupied with a pile of leaves, and ran back and forth from the edge of the deck to the pile of leaves with handfuls of leaves dumping them over the edge. They wanted to run around inside the house but we didn't let them. We got them home and in the bathtub in record time, and made a point to tell them no books since it was so late in the afternoon. Both of them crashed in bed for their naps at 2:30 and are actually still sleeping hard. It is 5:05 pm!! Dave went over to the house right after they went to bed and continued to paint. When they wake up we'll go back over there again but just for a walk this time - no playing in the sand.