Reid and I went to Petrie Island with Melissa and Sarah on Saturday. It really isn’t an island but the sand on the beach is lovely. We were test driving the basket of sand toys that I picked up at the end of last summer. I got them out on Friday morning when I thought we were going camping that night. Reid was excited to see them – she’d noticed them in the basement a few times over the winter and spring but I’d never let her take them from the furnace room. When camping didn’t happen, I decided a trip to the beach was in order and so there we were. Stephen was at a friend’s cottage and Ben had gone away with his grandparents and so it was just us girls. We spread out a couple of towels and Sarah and I began building a number of castles before settling on a compound and accompanying wall. Reid did some building, too, but she also continues to delight in destroying castles. She did respect the “no destroying” rule on the castle and keep, though, so that shows some maturity.
We ate a picnic lunch on our towels. I’d brought sandwiches for us – PB for Reid and PB&J for me – but couldn’t bring for Melissa and Sarah since they’re white bread folks. I also brought some peppers, cucumber and carrots and was reminded that Sarah eats only carrots. Remember when I talked about Reid not cleaning up her plate when we eat at Melissa’s? I should maybe have thought of how Melissa mostly cooks the meals that her kids eat while I just expect Reid to eat whatever she is offered. Or not. We also had fruit and Melissa brought cookies. I love her for many things but having a friend who almost always has homemade cookies is truly a joy.
After lunch, Sarah and Reid got water from the Ottawa River to help with their building (a mess, mostly) and to wash their feet. Reid happily trailed after Sarah for a long time. They tried to play with the collapsable flying disc – like a Frisbee (TM) but nylon and it goes into a little pocket, so not *really* all that like a Frisbee, I guess – but the wind was strong and they did more chasing than throwing it back and forth. Many giggles ensued and so it wasn’t a total loss, especially for Melissa and me since we needed only to sit on the towels and watch.
I wonder if we’ll swim in the river this summer. Reid hasn’t liked bodies of water with waves so far in her life and swimming at Petrie Island is often forbidden due to contamination. If we can have such a nice time without swimming as we did, though, there will be many trips to Petrie Island in our future.