patio.

my kids are out back, playing with a bunch of broken toys on the old, cement foundation of what used to be a clapboard house. they are as happy as can be.

these kids would play outside all day if we didn't live in a third floor apartment on a fairly busy road. and they do play outside for hours when i let them go to the babysitters house down the street.

it's hard to get outside time here. even with a backyard. the sun is usually so hot, my little white babies are red in twenty minutes. or sweating buckets. or complaining about how hot it is.

we're visiting a friend today, trying to get some work done and relaxing. it's independence day for the dominican republic - one of like 17 celebratory days for no real independence. the power struggle for this island has never really ended. but it's a party day nonetheless, a no work kind of day where families attend carnival celebrations, parades and eat sancocho from pots that hold 15 gallons cooking over campfires in the street.

it's a good day. with the babies playing out back, not too much sun and just warm enough to be fun. a good day with family and friends and (hopefully) some delicious food.

a good day.