bond park

Amelia was still in a lot of pain the day after Veterans Day so she stayed home from school. Normally she would have been okay with that, but she had to miss a field trip to the Capitol and was so disappointed. She mostly spent the day reading. It was a gorgeous, warm fall day so we ventured out for a lunch picnic at Bond Park. Amelia continued to read a book while the boys played on the playground. It was about one year ago that we were hanging out at Bond Park for the first time, taking a break from a completely miserable house hunting trip. So much has happened (and changed) since that trip.

 

Just wanted to document Elsa's awesome purple outfit that day.

arboretum + park

Every so often I let the girls skip school, spend the morning playing at home in their pajamas, and then head out for an afternoon adventure. On this particular day we walked around the Arboretum (the girls brought their sketchbooks again and drew their favorite plants) and played tag in the open field. Then we found a new park that we loved. The fall colors have been stunning. I love seeing all of the color mixed with the tall pine trees.

Lake Wheeler

Lake Wheeler is the closest lake to our house. The girls cross over it every day to get to school but we had never actually visited the lake. I took the boys to Lake Wheeler Park one afternoon to check out the fall colors. They had fun playing on the playground, throwing rocks in the water and soaking themselves in the lake.

sushi cutter.

We spent a fun evening at a nearby park, relaxing on the grass, running, playing, and exploring. There was a disc golf putting green so we tossed our frisbee around there and enjoyed the soft patch of grass (actually it was artificial turf but perfect for cartwheels and general frolicking).

The girls introduced us to a game they invented called "sushi cutter." The "cutter" lays on the grass and tries to cut the "sushi" as it jumps over. This game was guaranteed to end with injury. I think Ben took the biggest beating as the cutter.

We spotted our first fireflies of the season when we got back home, and also caught a frog in the backyard. Someone handed the frog to Simon and he immediately tried to put it in his mouth. We all screamed and he cried.