Shorts Are Too Short!

Wednesday was a scorcher of a day. I won't tell you the exact temperature because those of you who live Outside (of Alaska) will not be impressed and will therefore discount the uncomfortableness of the day. You will think we are wimps--which Alaskans are NOT. We are just a tad cold-blooded and we don't do well when the temperatures rise above 70 degrees. It's not our preferred milieu.

When we were getting the kidlets dressed for the day, I decided that the boys should wear shorts. I didn't think it would be such a big deal. They were in Mexico last fall and surely they wore shorts there? It would be cruel to make young children wear jeans, heavy cotton or corduroy pants in a tropical climate. Kara says she can't remember what they wore other than swimsuits on the beach. The kids own shorts, so wouldn't they have worn them? (I need to check out Kara's vacation photos.)

Last summer was very lousy weather-wise. We only had a few days of sunshine the entire summer, so the children didn't need warm weather clothing. This summer has been very different! YEAH!

Bentley threw a fit when I tried to coax him into a pair of plaid shorts. No, it wasn't the print that offended him, it was the lack of length. He FIRMLY believes that pants should go down to your ankle. End of discussion.

I transferred my energy to getting Jake into shorts. He's a little smaller than Bentley and therefore easier to overpower. Jake was not happy with me, but I did manage to get him into a very cute pair of Snoopy overalls.

However, like his brother Bentley, Jake was very disturbed by the shortness of the shorts. He found that if he sat on the floor he could pull the shorts over his bent knee and the hem would then touch his ankle. You have to give him credit for figuring out how to cover his entire leg. I finally distracted him by pointing out the dog and bird on his shorts. He's a big animal lover.

We went downstairs and the kidlets had breakfast. Jake ate well, but continued to pull on his shorts. Check out the photo below where he has both hands yanking on the bottom hem of his shorts.


After breakfast I invited the children to come outside and play while I yanked weeds along the 100 yard driveway. Kara told Bentley if he wore a pair of shorts outside for our morning play session, he'd get a new toy car. I was convinced that once Bentley wore shorts for a while, he'd really like them. Shorts are so much more comfortable when it's hot out. He took the bribe.


Unfortunately the shorts turned out to be a poor choice because he fell and scraped up his knees. GRRRR! He's not a clumsy kid, but being an active toddler he does take a few falls most days.

Jake wore his shorts all morning and afternoon. He liked them well enough except when he went down the metal slide. "HOT! HOT!", he complained.

Should we quit the shorts campaign?