It’s 84 right now. The high is supposed to be 90. After weeks of chill and rain this is bliss! (I’m so glad we have AC, though, or it would not be so blissful.)
I looked at the forecast and decided today we’d go to the park and have a picnic lunch. I’m really trying to get us out to commune with nature at least once a week this summer. Such high ambition.
We got a late start what with me sleeping in, burning my breakfast on the first try, and taking excited photos of deer in the yard. Not to mention having to nurse the baby.
But finally at a quarter till ten I got the kids shoed and hatted and into the car. I ran back into the house to get the sleeping baby into his car seat and to grab our lunch and some water cups. While I was hurrying, I tripped over the swing and wrenched my ankle. Oh it was painful. I was glad the kids were in the car because I may have muttered some words I don’t want them to add to their vocabulary. I was a little worried I might have broken it or sprained it so bad I couldn’t walk on it. It hurt that much. I had visions of me calling Dom at work to come home to help me get the kids out of the car. But after a minute or two I tired to stand and it didn’t feel that bad. I decided we’d go to the park anyway.
I decided to take just a very short walk instead of a hike. We parked and walked a short way to this tower where we had our picnic while Bella chased a butterfly.
She chased it around and around and it never seemed to go more than about thirty feet away from where we were sitting. She sang a little butterfly song and declared that the butterfly was her new friend. Oh and the butterfly was a she.
The butterfly alit quite a few times, allowing us to get a good look and for me to finally shoot some good photos of it. Bella correctly identified it as a swallowtail. (I was able to look it up when we got home and it was a black swallowtail.)
After we’d eaten lunch and they’d circumnavigated the tower a few times, Bella wanted to walk a bit further, maybe go down to the pond to find the ducks and geese; but I told her it would have to wait for a different day. I wasn’t sure it was wise to hike far on my ankle. When she decided that she needed to use the bathroom that clinched the deal. It cut short our park visit even more than I’d wanted to; but we went to Burger King where all five of us trooped in and I got the Coke I’d been craving all morning. Yikes! I’m still not used to such solo trips with all the kids, This is why I haven’t started toilet training with Sophie yet.
After I got Ben and Anthony down for their naps, the girls and I had an art afternoon. I did a project I’ve been wanting to do for a while: cut out pictures of flowers from a seed catalog and decoupaged them onto the top from a box of chocolates. It looks very pretty. Perfect for keeping safe small bits of nature that the girls can’t bear to throw away yet.
After a while I looked down and realized there was a big swelling on the side of my ankle. I guess it was sprained after all. Now I’ve got it up with a bag of frozen vegetables on it. And Dom’s going to pick up dinner on his way home so I don’t have to be on my feet cooking. I hope this doesn’t spoil our plans to go to the farm tomorrow.
So precious, thanks for sharing!