Welcome Back Whaley!

Fans, it's back: the whale pool.  Longtime readers will recall that last summer, we got a wading pool shaped like a whale, replete with a tail and a blow hole to which one can hook up the hose to make a fountain.  Sadly, we must report that when Whaley was overwintered, his tail sprung a leak so it does not remain in all its perky glory for long.  But the science-minded Ted assures Julie that he knows how to find a leak in an inflatable so Whaley shall be returned to fully inflated splendor before too long.  (Julie is perhaps more relieved than the bambini who paid the wilting tail little mind.)

It's been sweltering here so we spent rather a lot of time in Whaley this week with our buckets and sand toys which double as water toys.  The bambini had much bailing of water business to be handled.  Also making a return appearance: the beach balls with the shark and seahorse inside.  They actually went missing for a time.  Turns out, they'd blown down the street.  When Julie retrieved them she learned that a wonderful way to meet one's less immediate neighbors is to lose some pretty fantastic beach balls that also serve as conversation starters.