The Wonder Years!!!

Today was a day that we so desperately wanted to be outside. Usually when the weather is this beautiful we drop everything and run to the zoo or park! It was not going to happen today. Latin falling right after lunchtime in combination with all six kids (and mom) needing naps/quiet time trumped any intentions to be outside. So when the group dwindled to a reasonable four kids we ventured out past our own backyard. A short trip to the pond with respectable visits with several neighbors was a wonderful treat. It is always on these beautiful days that I remember being a kid and playing under the street light so as not to go inside. Usually a game of kick ball in the cul-de-sac. Visiting with all the neighbors today and finding out how the new school year is going or the new baby that has been added since our last visit makes me feel like there is just a little decency left in our world. Maybe the days of Father Knows Best are long gone but we can still hold on to the Wonder Years.
The kids are growing so fast and this is ever so evident on our walks with fewer kids in the wagon and more kids dependent on their own transportation. Fewer shouts from mom to get to the side of the road and more shouts from the kids for mom to hurry up. Knowing when we make it home there is only one baby to nurse and the rest will get their own glasses of water. It is times like this that I wish will be saved forever in my mind. There will come a time when this too will slip by.

The kids found wonderful bamboo sticks on our walk. They brought them home and made some projects. Beedle decided on pirate ship sail and Gus made the American flag. Gus greeted all the traffic at the roadside with a salute while Gracie and Beedle sailed away on the driveway. What fun it is to be young. Maybe it should be the Wonderful Years.