Audition for Summer

On Saturdays, around 4:30 in the afternoon, when Chase and I are both passed out exhausted on the floor, and the girls are screaming hooligans tearing the house apart with eternal energy, Chase will say, "WHAT are you going to DO this summer?!?!" in a tone indicating a serious concern for my future sanity.

So I have been formulating a plan, based around multiple supply bags, multiple free, easily reachable destinations, and a strict schedule for the day which hopefully includes at least one "adventure."

Since Wednesday is our free day, we sort of had a summer try-out, to see how everything works. The girls watched Sesame Street while I did chores, and worked on the log cabin quilt. Then Wren made Mother's Day cards (cut out paper in lots of shapes and scattered them on the floor) while Jane took a nap. Then we hung out with two of our favorite folks- Rachel and Bea, and THEN...


We had an adventure! I remembered to pack lots of snacks for Jane (brownies and grapes). Jane's trying to drag her grapes into the water here. For a while, she carried them around Onion Creek on her float.


We went to McKinney Falls State Park, which is about 25 minutes away (more in traffic), free with a parks pass, and relatively hike-able for me, supplies, and two kids.


We had lots of fun, saw turtles, practiced swimming, and didn't get sunburned.


Here is Wren being very brave with her fish float and walking out into the "big water." She loved seeing the fish swim by her feet. She is such a gentle, cautious kid sometimes, being so concerned about Jane floating too far away, sharing her favorite float so quickly and sweetly with any other kid who wanted it. She even offered her brownies to new friends. I am so lucky to have her.