Sunny Days

The A-to-Z Blogging Challenge is just over 2 weeks away.  I've been trying really hard to pre-plan this year.  So far, I've managed to choose themes for all but 9 letters/days and I've written & scheduled 3 posts.  I'm sure I'll eek out 1 or 2 more before April hits.  I'm trying really hard not to recycle any of the topics I used last time, although I am going to re-visit some of the stuff I wrote as an update of sorts.  We'll see how it goes.

Since my brain doesn't want to function at full capacity at the moment, I thought I'd share a few pictures from the last few weeks.  Funny enough, they were all taken at various parks.  Man, I love Springtime!!

Earlier in March, I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time with my youngest nephew.  That also coincided with some pretty beautiful weather, which meant several trips to the park.  This picture is from one of those sunny park days.  The kids were running around the playground like little monkeys, but I did manage to get them to sit still long enough to snag a quick picture.

This day also kind of broke my heart.  When it was time to take my nephew home, he started crying (which is pretty normal), but then he said "No, you nebber, nebber take me home! I stay with you!"  It was adorable and sad all at the same time.  Yes, it feels good to know that of my 2 nephews & 1 niece, at least one of them likes being at my house for more than just the internet service.  On the other hand, I know his life is pretty hectic and I hate to see him going through so much.  He's such a happy, beautiful boy in spite of everything that he's seen in his young life.  I can't help but love him to pieces.

As I said before, we saw quite a few sunny days this month.  After being cooped up in the house all winter, we were all going a little stir crazy.  Although I typically volunteer down at the book exchange right after my kiddo gets out of school, I can go down there any old time and it seemed inhumane to make my kiddo sit in a building while the sun was up and at 'em.  Instead, we went to the park and played.

There are days I'd rather sit & read while the kiddo runs amok at the park, but there are also plenty of times when I just can't contain myself.  Who says a 32 year old can't teeter-totter or climb play equipment?!

This past weekend I found myself chock full o'energy.  The hubs & I got a lot of housework caught up between Friday night & Saturday afternoon and on Saturday evening, we had a bbq/game night with a bunch of our friends. I fully expected to be exhausted on Sunday morning, but instead, I couldn't sit still.  I had to get out and move around.  Once again, we were blessed with a sunny (albeit slightly chilly) day.  Rather than sticking to the playgrounds in our area, I convinced the fam that we should drive a few extra miles and go to my favorite spot, Lithia Park.  In addition to the kids play area, the park is full of trails and gardens to explore.  The fountain is my all-time favorite part of the entire park, so I took my camera along & snapped a few photos.  Trin took this one of the hubs & I being kissy faces.  I took quite a few other pictures, but the sun was being a jerk & they turned out shadowy.  At least we have this one. :)