First of the Season

We were here today for the first time this spring...

and we loved every minute of it! I picked the kids up from school and offered the idea of a picnic dinner if they finished their homework first. They were all for it. We were on our way 30 minutes later, picnic packed, ready to go.

We walked a bit at first to get to our usual spot. We forgot a blanket so we had to settle for a table. But it wasn't too bad, with a view of the lake and all. We watched the ducks, all of the dogs and puppies going for walks, and I watched as A & C scarfed down their dinner with the promise of ice cream to come.

The ice cream did come soon after-

and we had our first casualty of the summer. C licked his ice cream right off his cone and onto the ground. Boo-hoo. Really, he was very teary-eyed and almost started bawling right there. It can be hard for a little boy to lose his ice cream. Clearly we are out of practice.

After many licks later, the cones were gone and we were off to the playground. Not too bad for a school night!

They love the climbing net they have. I can't even begin to count how many times they went up and down. C even turned down the opportunity to play capture the flag with another little boy. That's how much he loves to climb!

On our way back to the car we were prepared to buckle up, start driving, and be on our way. That is until we saw a fox! A and I saw it first, walking across the road to the lake. She said, "C! Did you see that?! It's a fox!" Nope. He didn't see it. He was already in the car. So she climbed in, told him to get out, and he and I ran to see where the fox went. People were gathering by where it should have been. We kept a bit of distance (never encountered a fox in the open before) and waited. Pretty soon it comes trotting up the little hill, onto the walking path, then the bike path, with dinner in the mouth. We think it was a duck or a fish or something. We're not quite sure, because it was trotting in our direction. Needless to say, I turned around quickly and walked back to the car, looked back to see if it was still following, as it crossed the street. Quite the adventure as we were leaving!

The kids watched it in the woods as we drove slowly along the side, watching the crows begin to circle, hoping for the fox to drop said dinner. Then it disappeared.

All in all it was a great first visit to the Lake! We can't wait for many more to come...visits to the fairy house, bike rides, concerts to see, more playground time...the list is endless!