Playtime Fun

Just a quick post to share a few pictures of Daniel at play. We've been to several playgrounds with Daniel enjoying them all. Richard finally got him on a swing on the drive to CA when we had a stretch break, and he got on again while we were here. Most playgrounds around here actually do not have swing sets, but the other stuff is really good. We did find some, though, at the Irvine Regional Park. There were even other kids that he played with! What fun!

And of course, there was fun trying on Daddy's shoes, looking at the train sets in the Old Spaghetti Factory with Matthew and Papa, and spending time with Uncle Mikey and Aunt Denise.

Laguna Beach, December

We were in Laguna Beach on Saturday with Richard's Mom and had a lovely day! The weather was perfect, it wasn't very crowded, and the tide was out. We explored tide pools, with Daniel finding sea anemones in the sand and Hildegard holding a hermit crab for the first time. Daniel ran in and out of the waves, often holding up his hands and saying "stop!" to the waves. We then had a lovely lunch at a fish place overlooking the water. We're going back again next weekend, this time to spend the night.

Arkansas - the Second Week

We're back in Holbrook now, but had a wonderful second week in Arkansas. We went for a hike almost every day since the weather was so fantastic. We strolled downtown a few times, along Bathhouse Row within Hot Springs National Park. We spent time with family and had a wonderful visit! It's good to be home, but we sure miss the big house, the front yard, and all the trails were didn't get to this time around!

Here are some hiking photos. Daniel really liked to run even more than walk! Every now and then, he would give in, though, and ride on Daddy's shoulders. We hiked a lot in Hot Springs National Park, up and over and around both West Mountain and Hot Springs Mountain.

One day we went to Lake Catherine State Park and hiked along a creek to a great waterfall. We'll have to remember that one next time we're in town when it's swimming weather!

We did yet another hike, with my sister Linda meeting us near the top of the mountain.

Our last "hike" was a walk downtown where we took a "bath" in the national park gift shop, and set Daniel up as a future park ranger!

Arkansas - the First Week

We were able to drive to Arkansas to spend Thanksgiving with my family this year. It was a 4 day drive - one long day and 3 shorter days. Daniel and Walnut both traveled great. Beautiful weather also helped!

We spent Friday night in Albuquerque with our friends Kimi and Tom. We even managed to visit the Albuquerque Zoo on Saturday morning. That night Daniel got to play in the hotel pool, sleeping for 10 hours afterwards to make up for all the fun for the previous 2 days!

This week so far in Hot Springs has been unseasonably warm, so we've been outside a lot. We went downtown, on a hike, and to a walking trail with a creek and playground nearby. This has been in addition to spending time with Daniel's aunts, uncles, and Granny and Grandpa!

Here are a few pics from the trip and week in town. Sorry if they get mixed up when I do this from my iPhone!

Fall Fun

It has been the most perfect fall weather this past week! Not until this weekend did it actually get really cold, with a light dusting of snow on Saturday night. Winds brought the cold front in so most of the leaves came off the trees over the last couple days. Daniel, Walnut, and I made it to the Holbrook playground on Thursday to enjoy the fall weather and I got a few pictures.

We went again to the playground this morning and found piles and piles of leaves on the ground. There were 3 other young boys there, and we all started to throw leaves. It was a lot of fun! It was a rare opportunity in Holbrook to have those fresh, clean leaves to play with. Daniel LOVED it, especially the interactions with the other boys. It was pretty cold, and their parents stayed sitting in the car. So I played with everyone!