Day at the Park

After the flurry of Christmas time, I was able to take a few days off work to stay home and play with the kids. It was great being able to spend some extra time with them - and I'm sure my mom (who normally watches the kids during the week) appreciated the break! One thing I learned quickly is that kids need to be kept busy. Sitting around watching movies and napping sounds like heaven to me, but it's Death from Boredom for the kids. And what better way to use up some energy than to run around at the park?

Kristin wasted no time running over to the swings, and was excited to show me her latest trick. Taking a photo of this was entirely her idea:Then the kids found a mini basketball that someone had left on the playground. Simon in particular was excited to play with it. They played catch for a while, and then they ran out to the field and kicked it around like a soccer ball. But mostly it seemed like they just liked running back and forth and laughing. Which, of course, I loved to see.I also loved to see Simon making silly faces at me from the top of the slide. Isn't he a charmer?Simon is generally afraid to go down the slide by himself, unless it's a very short slide and he can easily do down backwards. (Otherwise he's afraid he'll fall on his face.) But he's comfortable when Joey or Kristin go down the slide with him. Joey was so sweet, helping his little brother:After a couple hours, it was time for lunch and a nap. Know how I knew it was nap time?