Being Outside

Today was a gloriously warm, sunny day. The forecast had been for rain, and the surprise of instead having such a lovely day to be outside made it all the more spectacular. We walked into town for brunch around 11:00 and didn't end up leaving until after 3:00. We spent hours sitting in the park in the center of town, hanging out with all sorts of friends who were happening through, and also catching up with people who we hadn't seen since the last gloriously warm day of the fall. It felt so good to be outside. We all got a bit sunburned (I guess that means it's time to start putting on sunblock everyday), but it was the kind of sunburn that feels good.

When we did get home, Lena and I were pretty beat and welcomed the shaded relief of our house--a house that has been a little too cold all winter, but now feels perfectly cool. The boys, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with being inside. Luke and Jaz bounded in the front door, and then out the back door, pausing only momentarily to use the bathroom in between.

I had forgotten, in the loooong, cold, dark winter about how lovely Being Outside is for the kids. It's a whole different thing when there's no need for snowsuits and mittens and worries about snow getting stuck inside of boots. They are entertained for hours on end by sticks and dirt alone.

While Lena, Zeb, and I rested inside, Lukas and Jasper were busy working on their version of fairy land in the back yard. This is the fairy house that Jaz made:

Here are the Playmobil Fairies inside, eating their dinner. I love how he set the table up.

Lukas built the Fairy Hospital ("well, you know, because of course everyone needs a hospital").

Here he is tying the "ambulance boat" to the dock outside the hospital, after realizing that it would take the fairies a long time to get all the way across the yard from their house in an emergency. Especially if the emergency was a broken wing, or something like that.

When Zeben woke up from his nap, he wanted to go outside right away, and spent a good 45 minutes quietly observing a swarm of ants.
They really are fascinating. Ants. This is the kind of thing that you can forget about all winter long.
Hooray for spring.