Pretty typical

Ah, summer. I can tell you're just around the corner.

The predictable simplicity of our days, the warm weather and the kids tuckered out from so much fun make this our favorite time of year. We will spend hundreds of hours in the backyard splashing in this little pool before the weather cools off again. And being the good mom that I am, I'll always be close by, lounging in my comfy beach chair, careful to not leave my children unattended while they splash. (These are the sacrifices we moms must make.)

And for the remainder of the summer, I know I can count on my kids to provide hours of entertainment for myself and anyone spying on our backyard.

Abby will go down that slide over and over again, never tiring of trying new ways to propel herself into the pool. And unless I interrupt her to feed her a banana popsicle, I can count on the fact that she won't leave that pool unless I tell her in no uncertain terms that it is absolutely time to take a break. And mean it.

Caleb will do his fair share of splashing, too. But he's busy, always busy, and seems most at ease when he has a task to complete. So I'll often catch him standing at the edge of the pool, looking for a cup to fill up with water, or a dump truck to load up with dirt to start his mud factory. Sometimes, if he stands there long enough, I'll ask him what he's thinking. And I'll get one of two answers: "I'm thinking of trucks." Or, my personal favorite: "I'm not thinkin' anything, Mommy." He leads a pretty simple life, I think.

Even Jacob will have his time in the sun. He finally weighs enough to keep the bumbo seat from floating when he's in it, so he'll sit by the slide and wait to be splashed by an energetic brother or sister. When he tires of sitting, I'll help him down the slide, drag his feet through the pool so he can feel the water between his wiggly toes, then scoop him up into a big towel. We'll settle back into my beach chair while my little guy chews on his toes and giggles at his siblings when they walk over and drip water onto his belly.

And at some point, Abby may wander over, like she did today, to let me know they've had enough and it's time to go inside.

"This is too much playing, Mommy," she said as she sank down into the chair with me. "I need to rest a little."