Beautiful day

Yesterday, Sacha laughed at me as I waltzed in from a walk and declared, "It's such a beautiful day!"  When we first moved here, it was only beautiful to me if it was 80 degrees and perfectly sunny outside.  Now, apparently, I've adjusted.  Compared to the frigid temps and freezing rain of the last however long, mid-50s and cloudy but not raining seems pretty darn beautiful to me!  I guess I have changed a lot since becoming a pacific northwesterner.

Anyway, the kids and I had an unexpected free morning today, so after they hung out with Megan for an hour (thanks, Megan!), we actually went to the park.  It was 55 degrees, not raining, and only a little windy.  We haven't been to the park in I don't know how long - probably weeks if not months.  I'd say we've been once or twice since Thanksgiving.  It was soooooo nice to be outside and not cold and have the kids get their energy out in the outdoors instead of in some indoor play park or just in our house. 

There was goopy, slurpy mud-stomping to be had...

...as well as lots of drying of the slides with towels, climbing, sliding, swinging, and then climbing back into the stroller.  They made a HUGE mess of the baseball outfield, but I figure it will all slosh back together soon enough when the rain starts again.  And, they actually both decided they wanted to go home at the same time, which was a minor miracle.  Then, it was still so balmy out that we decided to keep on walking and go to the hardware store, where we bought some token items but really just wanted their 'free with purchase' popcorn.   It was a big outdoor adventure for us this time of year.

This afternoon, we may have another walk in store, along with an OB appointment for Sacha and probably more indoor playtime.  We sure are getting well acquainted with our house these days.  I guess I'd better get used to it, since it's only January.  Maybe soon I'll be going on about what a beautiful day it is if we just have the right combination of lights on in the living room!