Today's Joy: Park Day!

What a gorgeous day! We tossed the bikes in the van (LOVING THAT!) and headed to our neighborhood park. I love this space...it has smooth paths for bike riding. I can sit on a bench and still see the kids zooming around. When they get tired of riding, there are swings (which they rarely use!) and play equipment as well as basketball hoops and a little bridge, dirt path and tiny pond with a tree to climb and the popular tire swing.

We didn't do the park much last summer as the weather was cool and wet. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed watching my children this year. I have peace of soul I've never known before and it effected my visit to the park in a wonderful way! I loved watching the kids push each other on the tire swing and ride around on their bikes. Of course, any outing with Sarah involves collecting sticks! There's a stand of native currant (Ribes sanguineum)...both pink and white-drool!

The best part of a park day is having Dad meet us on his way home. :)

Today's Joy-Hammy!

So these new chairs have created MANY opportunity for FUN! Here's Sarah today...just can't help herself! Hammy!

Rainy Day Burrito With Campbell-Thankful For Our Lifestyle Of Learning

My nephew is 16 months old. He lives about 45 minutes away and we don't see him all that often, so when my sister called this morning, I said YES. We had arranged a hot, sunny Friday a few weeks ago, but he had a fever so we didn't meet. Today I could tell she was feeling down because they cancelled a special trip because of Campbell's injury and it was a rainy, gray day-the kind my sister hates. When she called and asked if we wanted to meet for lunch, I jumped at the chance to invest in her.

I was looking forward to our day this Monday...to getting back into the flow of our routine especially since we had a death in the family. John's dad passed away unexpectedly last week. I am SO grateful for my learning lifestyle that I didn't feel pressured to complete "school" in lieu of our real life. This past week, we've been free to help Gramma as needed without the false guilt associated with contrived academic schedules. And being able to be generous with our time with my sister today, was awesome.

Roly-Poly II

Sarah added another roly-poly bug to her "hotel". The Ps came over for a manicure & friend time. Sarah asked Dan to play with her and when I suggested it would be loving of him to play with her-he did!

Today's Joy

Living life!