Borrowed Time

I really didn't want to lose the momentum from October's daily posting, but this week has been...uninspiring. Halloween was so much fun, but the next day was sort of awful and in general it was just a week of getting not-so-fun jobs out of the way.

I promised the kids that after naptime today I would take them to the Treehouse (the indoor play structure at our gym). Cometh the time, however, Pacey specifically asked to go to the playground. I have a pretty hard time denying Pacey anything he asks for by name, and this was no exception. Despite the fact I really (really, really) didn't feel like going, I couldn't ignore the fact that the late autumn sun was gorgeous and the temperature an unbelievable 55 degrees. This time last year was equally pretty but much colder, and our first snowfall blizzard (though we didn't know it at the time) was only a week away. I know winter is just around the corner, whether we are ready or not, so I packed up my camera and we headed to the playground.

Going to the park gave me such angst when we first moved here. I was entirely unused to spending so much time with the kids, didn't know what their limits were in terms of physical abilities, and didn't really derive any pleasure from running around after them trying to keep them from taking headers off the structures (Brighton) or running into the thankfully quiet street (Pacey). But now, 12 months later, it's actually pretty fun. They can both manage 95% of the equipment on their own and they entertain me with their creativity. I'm always blown away by Pacey's agility on the playground because he just had such a hard time with strength and endurance in his first couple of years. But Brighton, too, blows me away in how confident she's become and how she's using her imagination in physical play.

Anyway, blah blah blah, here's some pictures I snapped:

"I see kids! And a princess!" she says. 

Pacey thought he was being nice by pushing her...she disagreed

Self-portrait

Scratching their backs on a tree...Jungle Book has been
getting a lot of air time lately

This handsome boy bears almost no resemblance to my
squishy little peanut of almost FIVE years ago. Be still
my heart.

Graham crackers never go out of style.

We have a fun weekend planned that will culminate in celebrating Pacey's birthday with our adopted Minnesotan family. For now? I have a date with a cold beer, a fire in the fireplace and escapism on the TV. Happy Weekend!