Camera Free

Completely out of character, but I took my kids to a picnic at a park after Jonathan's football game and did NOT get my camera out of the car. What was I thinking?

If I had my camera, I would have snapped a picture as they climbed the embankment that leads to I-35. They were close enough to the cars zooming by at 65 mph that my heart might have stopped a couple of times. They loved it.

I would have taken a picture of them as Jonathan waded in the water of the creek and scaled the infamous round rock. I would have stepped back a bit and snapped a shot of all of them dancing around the rocky "flats" that are smoothly carved by erosion. It is where my mom's family would come for picnic outings 50+ years ago.

It would have been great to capture Lindsay and Lyvia carefully wading over to the round rock. Lyvia wore her "baby soup" today because she just knew she would be swimming. That hadn't been in the plans, but she was joyfully vindicated and so proud of herself for sticking to her guns about what she considered appropriate football watching wear. Lindsay took such good care of her as they got closer and closer to their goal.

Dylan stayed on the shore to show me how fast the minnows "zagged" when he put his finger in the water. He couldn't wrap his mind around charging into the cold water and making his way to the rock. Instead, he found plenty to do perched on the edge of the rock as he dipped his squishy toddler hands into the water. What a sweet picture they would be.

It is heart warming to watch siblings help one another and that is just what Jonathan and Lindsay did when all three arrived at the rock. The made and executed a plan to help Lyvi scale the side. Lindsay leaned over the rock and grabbed Lyvi's hands. Jonathan gave her a boost from below. Hopefully they will always remember to help each other out. All three were smiling on top of "their" round rock -- that would have been a picture.

On the way back, they found more areas to explore. Even Dylan became brave enough to wade from rocky shelf to rock shelf.

I didn't have a camera today, but I think they'll still remember their mom taking them on this impromptu picnic at the park.