Feeding Fishies to the Fishies

Time: 11am
Weather: Hot and sunny 80° , but felt hotter than that in the sun. Looks like we'll get some thunderstorms this afternoon.Today we went to the pond with lots of people- Uncle and cousin, and Papa, and friends. All these little fish were swimming close to the shore, and must be used to getting fed, because they were all swarming towards the rocks the kids were throwing in. We had some goldfish crackers with us and tossed some of those in for the fish.

Hooray for Camping!

We managed to pull ourselves away from the mess of our kitchen remodel and go camping last night. It was our first time camping as a foursome, and went well. As per usual we were refreshed by our outing and found ourselves saying, "We've just got to do this more often!" So- we've just got to go camping more often! We got a list going of things we need to add or restock in the bus. We figure if we can keep it nearly ready to go we'll be more likely to get out the door with the kids.

Walk 2: In which the ponds saves Mama's sanity for now..

Time: 11:30am
Weather: Sunny and a bit hot
Moods: Grumpy all around! Though this did improve once the pond was sighted.

We've had a hectic couple of days and this morning included a screaming-by-both-boys-tired-mom grocery shopping trip which led to only more screaming by the time we got home. Hmmm- time to head outside. Ahhh, yes we needed the pond today. Leland fell asleep in his pack pack, and James was excited to throw rocks into the water. I was excited to hear something besides whining and crying!
Sometimes I get too caught up in trying to take a picture or just being a grown up.James reminds me that really going to the pond can just be about, "1-2-3-GO!!!" Throwing rocks with Mama.

And watching this duck. "His feets are in the water!! He's fwimmming!!! He gets out of the water Mama!!!!!" Then hiding by my leg, a bit worried, "He wants to get in the water. He will go back in the water."

We Begin Our Pond Walks

Time: Noon

Weather: Drizzly Monsoon afternoon, 79°F

We can walk to this pond from our house (though today we drove because of the rain). The pond goes through drastic seasonal changes over the year, and last week when we walked over here I thought it would be the perfect place to begin exploring on a regular basis. Well, also it's a good fit because James loves water and there's a little park to play at nearby- making this a really fun place to visit. Here are a few things we saw today......

Mama's view:

Lots of Flowers in bloom

Ducks! Two ducks are swimming in this picture, can you see them?

We heard the rain drippling into the pond. James splashed his hands and feet in the water.

Inlet into the pond-We crossed the water right there!