Haircuts and Umbrellas

On Tuesday, we went to our favorite salon here to get the kiddos haircuts.  They all thought they were very cool, especially Celia (who we are certain takes after her mother in all things fashion).  I can’t say I know what a typical salon experience is, but this goes way beyond any service I’ve gotten from the barbershop on the corner:  the kiddos get juice and cookies afterward and Mom and Dad get coffee and cookies while they wait.  They even let Rosetta test out the “automatic shampooing chair,” which brought that goofy little smile she gets when she thinks she’s doing something big-kid.

Yesterday, it was sprinkling a bit when we left the apartment, so the kiddos got to use the new umbrellas Grandma Rose bought them for our trip:  two princess umbrellas and one Spiderman.  Again, very exciting.  We made the fifteen-minute walk down to the open-air market, at which point it turned into a torrential downpour.  Thunder, lightning, and buckets and buckets and buckets of rain.  Luckily, we forgot to bring the laundry in from the clothesline (yes, our washing machine does have a dryer this time, but no, it doesn’t actually dry the clothes; and yes, you would think that reasonably intelligent folks would think to check the weather before heading out).

We camped out at a café underneath one of the footbridges by the market and watched the rain on the river.  We then café-hopped at each minor break in the rain, inching our way back toward the apartment.  By the time we got home, everyone’s sandals were soaked (but we were otherwise dry thanks to Grandma Rose’s umbrellas!).  And, of course, when we got up to our apartment the sun came out.

Apparently, it was a lot of fun for the kiddos…they are very disappointed that it’s not raining today.