Picnic in the Park

I requested some books for Riley and they all came in yesterday so I decided to hit the library and adjacent playground this morning. I mentioned it to D. who suggested a picnic lunch. Sounded like a fun afternoon to me. She brought sandwiches (PB&J) and juice boxes. I brought cheese sticks, fruit snacks and Coke for the Moms. Aside from the awful heat and a little hiccup with D.'s keys locked in her trunk at the end it was a lovely time.

Dressed (at her insistence) in her pumpkin shirt with matching barrette and her new Abby Cadabby shoes Riley hit the ground running. Normally, she's a pretty cautious climber. Today she must have swallowed a few brave pills with breakfast or maybe it was the new shoes. She climbed everything! There are no pictures because I had to be on guard. As it turned out, it didn't do much good. She climbed the highest piece of equipment in the playground and, as is customary, got scared when it was time to climb down. She was directly above my head and out of my reach. Luckily a friendly daddy noticed and with my permission helped her down.

I thought about it later and decided I would have tossed the crutches aside and climbed to her if we'd been alone. In the meantime, we shall practice climbing down things. As she was being rescued our friends arrived and it was picnic time.

Freshly coated in spray on sunscreen (best invention ever) and with their bullies full they hit the playground again. They climbed, slid, swung and had a kind word for all the other kids that happened to be there. It was more evidence of how grown up they are now. My favorite was the side-by-side monkey hang.

Aside from a slight sunburn (in March!!!) I had a wonderful time. D locked her keys in the trunk so I read the girls some books while she got help. I have always hated that my front door can only be looked from the outside, but it does cut down on those scenarios. I would have stayed until she was on her way, but Riley was tired and overheated and begging to go home. Everyone got home and I hear that even though it was past nap time the girls "did great."

I do wish I'd brought folding chairs for the grown ups because sitting on a towel on the ground hurt. I also wish I'd been more prepared for Riley's sudden aptitude for climbing, but I will be next time.