You know, for kids...

The Picnic
Living in a world of grownups means kids relish things that are made for them. So when the Hubs and I were making the sandwiches yesterday for a picnic with our niece, Rachel, we cut them into quarters - a sandwich format that is more fun and easier for little fingers to hold, although (arguably) messier when it comes to PBJs. Also, I don't think Rachel would've finished a whole sandwich, but she did eat four sandwich triangles. Sneaky, huh? ;)

The Ballet
We took Rachel, and our picnic, to Ballet Under the Stars. Once the performance started, Rachel sat captivated by the dancers - for a bit. I guess first grade really wears you out, because she was tired and wanting to go home halfway through the first piece. And therein lies the beauty of these free, introduce-your-kids-to-the-arts functions: you can imbibe a little culture, and then if the kid is tired/cranky/hungry, you can leave without feeling any pressure to "get your money's worth." So we stuck around until the people whose stuff we were watching got back from the bathroom, and, by then, I think we'd seen most of the performance anyway. So it all worked out.

The Zoo
This morning Rachel and I dropped the Hubs off at work (poor guy) and then went to the zoo. She played for a long time in the splash playground and got thoroughly soaked. On a normal hot sunny Arizona day, she would've dried in no time, and maybe that's why I forgot to bring a towel. If you were in Phoenix today, you already know it wasn't a normal day. It was cloudy, humid and just cool enough to make a wet Rachel shiver. Fortunately, I had thrown a hoodie in my backpack on the off chance it would get chilly and/or rainy later on. She was happy to wrap up in that and wander around the zoo like a mini-Jedi.
Lesson learned: You can't/won't always bring everything you'll need, so bring enough to improvise.

I also took the suggestion of bringing a bread bag for Rachel's wet swimsuit. Yep, handy.