Unbelievably, June 21st was mild by Richmond standards, with low humidity and highs in the low 80’s. That evening, it was cool enough to enjoy a fire in the backyard, and fortunately, we have every stick and branch that has fallen in our yard in the last ten years. You know, after about five years of sitting in our yard, those sticks are so dry they really burn well. We invited Jim, Lorraine, and Miranda over to enjoy our burning yard waste.

The blazing hot refuse fire was perfect for s’mores, especially for certain individuals who like to light the marshmallow on fire and turn it into a carbony chew.

It’s Captain Carbony Chew, lord of the charred marshmallow! Below are her satisfied s’more disciples.

The next day, while Laura took care of some shopping for our upcoming trip to Europe, McKenna and I went to Huguenot park so that McKenna could play on what she calls the “yellow” playground, appropriately named for its yellow slides and ladders. The trip was marred only by the predatory circling of the ice cream truck, which was much like a shark that smelled chum in the water.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the park…

With our shopping complete and having miraculously escaped the ice cream shark without having to buy a single ice cream treat, we went to an engagement party for Alex and Stephen. There were delicious Chick-fil-a nuggets at the party which McKenna would not eat, apparently due to her commitment to only eat low-quality microwaved chicken nuggets. Brooke, meanwhile, alternated between being entertained by her younger cousins, who sometimes actually listened to her, and fleeing from the clingy behavior of those cousins.

It stormed a bit during the party, but there was enough sun that we saw this rainbow on the way back home.

McKenna capitalized on the appearance of the rainbow to make a wish, wishing for a “treat.” This wished-for treat, incidentally, would have constituted her fourth treat of the evening, as McKenna chose to subsist on the chocolate chip cookies at the party rather than the awesome chicken nuggets.