A Day In The Park

It was a perfect 84 degree day and I decided that the kiddos and I would do a picnic lunch at a park not far from our home (it is here that I feel the need to admit that I had my own selfish reason for wanting to visit this spot... only days from now, I have a shoot scheduled in this same park and I wanted to do some poking around and check it out as its been many years since my last visit). My plan was to walk around, enjoy the scenery and take in the nature around us. It's true that I was scouting the place, but also, as a stay-at-home mom, I'm always looking for people, places and things to introduce to my children. Not just to give them the opportunity to learn and experience all that they can, but also to help make our days together interesting and fun. And that's what is so great about being outdoors. The opportunities to learn and explore present themselves naturally, so we like to spend as much time as we can being outside . 

My daughter was particularly happy we came to this park. Ever since she was young, she has been drawn to flowers. I probably have 100 pictures of her watering flowers, picking flowers, bending over and smelling flowers, etc. and at any point during the summer, I have at least 3 or 4 small vases full of flowers/weeds that she has picked for me on the counter in my kitchen. I love this about her and enjoyed watching her light up as she ran around excitedly inspecting the array of colors and smells in the endless line of gardens. She was thrilled to encounter such a place, but was tortured by the fact that she wasn't allowed to pick any of them. 

My son simply enjoys.... well, everything. He's the happiest kid you could ever want to meet and he's very easy to please. And after a nice, long walk, his contentment faded (which could only mean one thing: he was hungry, per usual) so we settled down for our picnic next to a beautiful waterfall and it was great! We just sat, ate, played and simply enjoyed a summer afternoon. It was a perfect day all around. Nothing can beat a beautiful day with beautiful surroundings, especially when I'm with my beautiful children! :)  

The only "flower" that she was allowed to pick... and she was proud of it :)

The gorgeous view from our picnic blanket... loved it!!