Picnic dinners & play

As the weather warms, we're spending even more time outside. Nicholas is mowing and trimming, I'm weeding and sorting out rocks from a garden bed, Cooper is roaming and playing in dirt. But beyond the practical outdoor tasks, we're doing a lot of playing too!

The other night, I pulled out a melamine tray, plated our dinner (egg casserole), and grabbed a sparkling water. We laid out our favorite thrifted picnic quilt (I think it was my mom's find a long time ago). Cooper ate ground beef and blackberries, took sips of our sparkling water. We left our shoes off, enjoying the feeling of bare feet in grass—all three of us. And then Nicholas climbed one of our trees, like he used to all those years ago when we were newly dating in college. Cooper asked to join him, too. And then didn't want to come out of the tree.

It was refreshing to just play. And it made me realize that this little family of ours, this home and yard of ours, these are not minor blessings. Having a little boy to play with outside makes me more playful. And oh, it's good for my heart to feel the lightness that only play can spur on.

So thankful we have a God who knew that children can bring this lightness, and that He created children to specifically learn and enjoy life through play (and us alongside them).

Tags:

Related posts

Life lately, early September 2023

Today, the air felt different. Cooler and more crisp. Filled with anitcipation. The last several weeks since my last "life lately" post, have been filled with a lot of summery fun and they've felt full. I might be getting ahead of myself, since it was in the upper eighties this past weekend, but decidedly, I love the shift that comes with slightly cooler weather. Nevertheless, here are some things we've been up to in recent weeks:

•4 min read

Life lately, late July 2023

Looking back at my recent posts, I realized it has been a long time since I wrote a little post about "life lately." I've written about things in our life, yes, like Cooper turning four, a visit to our friends in Bloomington, a visit from my family, a trip to the beach and the one year anniversary of my mother-in-law's passing, recent knitting and other creative projects, and some updates about our garden this year. But I haven't written a post with the little mish-mash bits of life since early June. So here I am now, playing a little bit of catch up.

•7 min read

Life lately, early May 2023

It's been awhile since a "life lately" post where I write about all the little bits and pieces of our life. This spring has been a rather cold one, but just this past weekend, we are seeing much warmer temperatures and the weather seems to be catching up with the date on the calendar. As someone who enjoys the colder months, I will say that spring and summer feel a bit magical with kids, and logistically, lots of things just feel easier as the temperatures are more mild.

•3 min read