*another* walk in the park

But, at least it was a new park.

I'm not sure why I always decide to take all the kids on outings by myself, but in my mind, it feels easier than staying at home and referring fights.  Not that my kids fight.  Because they don't.  Ever.

=)

But anyway, loading up everyone and taking them to a wide open space to run and explore and dig and climb is so fun...especially since there are no backyards in which to do all those things.  (and that's way better than hanging out in the confines of my home!)

So, here we go - Park #2.  Close to our home, accessible by a motorized, covered cart (which Josh affectionately refers to as "the death trap on wheels".)

I loved the old-style bridge at this park; it happened to be next to some beautiful weeping willows that made it a lovely little spot.

(I also love Silas' hat.)

Abby: not pictured.  

(She was throwing rocks off the bridge and could not be bothered to record the moment forever.)

As we walked on, there were lots of nice little paths.  And since it was late fall, there were lots of nice fall leaves around.  And since fall is my favorite season, it made me really happy.  

Silas was really happy too.  (and he's so compliant! He will almost always give me a good smile for a pciture!)

I do believe it was at this point in the trip that Emma got stuck up in a tree.  There was some wailing and theatrics (this is Emma, after all), but she eventually safely got down.  However, whilst up in the tree, a speck of dust, dirt or some other small debris - Emma describes it as a huge rock - got lodged in her eye.  The next half hour was spent with Emma sitting on a bench trying to figure out how she was going to go through life with only one eye.

*The issue has since been resolved. *

We found this amazing spot with the wooden bridge and golden trees.  I literally begged my kids to let me take some pictures.  Emma obviously wasn't up for it -- and for good reason, her eye was quite swollen at this point -- but bless Samantha, she hung in there and indulged me.  

(though she did have her own ideas about how some of the pictures ought to be staged:)

I tried to get Abby in on the fun, but honestly, she really doesn't like having her picture taken.  When she agrees, it's usually because she has something like this in mind:

It's almost as if she thinks this is what she's *supposed* to do when someone wants to photograph you...

                                   

This one was a little better (ie, the tongue stayed inside her mouth), but she insisted that her hand was in the correct position.  

By the end of the photo shoot and the following game of hide-and-seek, it was getting late and cheeks were starting to feel the chill of a fall evening.  Samantha found this one interesting rock that grabbed her attention on the way out - it totally looks like a heart!  She wanted to send her "love" to her Mimi and G and Pappy and Gigi.  =)

 The kids also felt like they'd earned some time behind the camera for their patience in posing in front of the camera.  I handed over the camera, and ended up with a shot like this:

 Little did we know that the weather would soon turn cold and rainy and would provide very few opportunities to play outside, so in hindsight I'm glad we had so many great park days early on!