Anna time and wading at Gezer Park

Last night, right after I started filling up the tub for bathtime, Anna told me she needed to "show me something real quick". I have being trying really hard to say "yes" when I can even though I really want to say, "not right now". So....I followed her downstairs and she started filling up a water bottle. 

I began to think perhaps this wasn't going to be "real quick". 

We got out the back gate before she confessed that she'd like to walk to the waterfall. It's about a mile away and I really think the tub would have overflowed before we could make it back. So  I promised her that we would walk to the waterfall the very next day while Laney and Everly are at Kate's summer preschool.

So we did. 

I've been trying to keep my promises, too.

We saw this young dove on the fence when we went through the gate. It's momma was trying to get it to fly, but it was perfectly happy just running along the boards.

We also got another squawking from the bird that is convinced that we mean to destroy her nest and all her little babies.

We played "guess which color the next car will be" all the way there and we laughed so hard when one of us actually got it right. She won! 5-3.

And then we made it. She is so fun to be with...she has lots to say and she isn't shy about telling me that she is thrilled to have some alone time...just us two. Because "it hardly ever happens!"

She's not kidding!

We had to hustle home because it was time to pick up the girls. We tossed the pork barbacoa into the crockpot and had mac n cheese for lunch (yet again).

Then we were off to check out Gezer Park with the Guenthers.

It's in the hoity toity park of Overland Park, so we were on our best behavior.  We only jumped into the "no swimming" area 2 or 3 times.

The kids complained a bit about feeling bored and wanting to go swimming at a "real pool"....

But soon they were creating soups and stews out of flower petals (I didn't ask), pine needles and grass clippings.

Megan and Ryan had a couple of good water fights and then Mathew found a couple rubber duckies and they started racing them down the waterway. There must have been a rubber ducky derby recently, because #247 and #344 were left behind. Yay for us!

Tomorrow is Mathew's birthday and he will be 14, so he gets to go to the teacher/priest activity tonight. This matters mainly because the activity is only a couple blocks away at the Flynns house...and THIS matters only because Megan's YW activity is at the Sirois' house about a mile down the road....and THAT matters only because it isn't Mark's night to be the Bishopric member at the church in LENEXA...which is 20 minutes down the freeway.  Nobody is going to Lenexa!

It's the little stuff.