I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.  The sun was shining for the first time in ages, which should have made me happy, but instead left me feeling even more glum.  Luckily my empathetic girl came to my rescue!  I invited her to come grocery shopping with me and she suggested a stop by the creek on the way.  Turns out that’s JUST what I needed!  Sunshine, fresh(ish) air, nature, and time with my girl.

She found a quiet spot. When she spotted me watching she invited me down to join her. :)

We sat by the river for awhile, then walked the whole trail (maybe a mile-ish).  The whole walk back to the car was spent discussing pollution, a conversation which morphed into how to make bird wings for humans and how awesome an invention like that would be.  Eve has big ideas!

Then we went to Pier 1 Imports because, well, why not.  Eve didn’t remember ever going there before and we had fun exploring.  Then she talked me into checking out the new Starbucks.  I felt like we were on vacation!  Hanging out by the water, exploring cool stores, and getting iced tea and snacks at Starbucks.  That’s a great vacation day!

Eventually we had to get to the real reason for the outing — grocery shopping!  Fortunately we had a fun new toy from Pier 1 that kept us giggling.

We got home to find the boys deep into a game of Settlers of Catana.  Alan had friends over last night who brought the game and taught him to play.  Lex read the instructions at breakfast this morning and was ready to go!  :)  I unloaded the groceries, then started to feel grumpy that Arlo was whining and no one had walked him… but instead of letting the glum settle in again, I grabbed the leash and took Arlo out for a good(ish) walk.

He was happy, I was happy, and I got home to find the boys had started a new game with Eve playing.  They are all happily playing Settlers of Catana right now.

So there it is, my afternoon in snaps.  I think it’s a “vacation is coming to an end” glum that I’m feeling.  I hope the sunshine and happy family sticks with me for awhile. <3