It's only 40 degrees outside!

Yesterday morning, I thought we could beat the heat. I thought if we just went to the playground early, we could have at least an hour of play before we had to dash back in. So we walked to the playground, it was pleasant and there was even shade from the trees. We picked flowers, twigs, even looked for grasshoppers but only found lots of ants. The girls were excited to be out (as they usually are), and Yasmin was happily pointing at birds that flew her way. But when we got to the playground, we felt the heat descend on us and it was relentless. I saw fat beads of perspiration dripping off Sera's forehead, her nose, her chin ... it was almost comical. She looked a pitiful mess and she probably felt it. She was truly uncomfortable and in the end, didn't want to play at all.

Yas, on the other hand, didn't seem to care about the heat. She went up and down the slide, a dozen times. Eventually I had to stop her as her face was a hot flush of red. Even Sera exclaimed with much worry, "Mama, what happened to Yasmin's face!!!!" So we took cover at a nearby cafe that had big umbrellas outside. I ordered fresh orange juice and a bottle of water and between the three of us, finished it all in seconds. Ahh, much better. And Yasmin's face lightened up too.

But then, we were 10 minutes plus another 5 minutes further away from our apartment. Walking back with Sera would make the walk a 20-minute one. So the walk back was more than a little painful for all of us. Sera was loudly complaining and my ear was buzzing all the way back. It was only 10.30am when we got back home and we were all tired and thoroughly exhausted from the heat. We spend the rest of the day recuperating ... I'm not kidding! So I guess, no more playgrounds ... unless we go there at night.

This photo turned out so misty because of the humidity that hit the lens. But it did give a romantic feel to this photo of Yas.

Yas, like Sera, loves the slide ...

So this afternoon at about 3, we play outside on our balcony. It started optimistically, even though is was still a little hot. The girls were playing with their new handheld bubble toy, going down the slide and then the heat took over common decency. Sera started to peel off her clothes and when Yasmin saw her sister so free and naked, she wanted everything off too. I decided to let them cool off even more by filling up the plastic bath tub, and letting them do whatever they wanted with the water. They had great fun and needless to say, the balcony was nearly flooded after that.

I know, what happened to the simple stick and soapy water? This toy, a little fancier is, admittedly, quite fun and handy

Yas was eagerly pushing the broom (which is incidentally Etienne's) around the dusty balcony

The girls were feeling much cooler and happier ... what a total mess!

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