Parks and (Dinner) Wreck

 

(intrigued by Daddy's waffle iron)

I have felt fortunate to find a couple fun playgrounds away in town that have really fun climbing equipment and other things - slides, spinning seats, and more. The park we visited a few days ago is one I found toward the end of last summer and it has never yet been crowded, it has nice shade trees right near the playground for sitting and knitting (well, maybe when Rosie is a little older...) and I am really thankful for a few places I can take the girls.  One of the things I have missed a lot in moving here is the easy access to beautiful parks and lakes.  It kind of still befuddles me that there doesn't seem to be anywhere nearby that I can take the kids in the heat to splash around outside; growing up in the Seattle area that was just a complete given.  So if anyone knows of any great water play options in Yakima that I can have in my mind to explore this summer, let me know!  There are a couple spray parks that we visited last summer too - those will probably be even more of a hit this year as Millie will be more adventurous, I think. 

Do you ever have a day when you are really counting the minutes to kids' bedtime, not because of any one kid or one situation but just because you're tired of noise?  I felt like that tonight; a little like maybe I'll should just make dinner and then hide in the bedroom while everyone fusses or grumps instead of eating.  It doesn't matter whether I am making kid-friendly food or not, dinner time is just kind of exhausting, especially because it's smack in the middle of Rosie's fussiest time of day.  I don't know why, but that adorable sweet baby turns into a screeching machine through the entire meal, right in my right ear and I can't even eat a bite fast enough before she's yelling again.  And then someone spills their milk which slides in a big white puddle across the table, dripping onto the floor through the crack for the table leaf, and then someone whines that they don't want that corn, and then someone fusses because they wanted the pink bowl and then someone... well, you get the picture.  Most days I can handle it, but every once in a while I just want to get a pair of earplugs and pretend I can't hear the whole thing, eating my own dinner (which I have worked hard to prepare deliciously and creatively) in silence. 

Someday I will miss the noise and chaos and mess.  I know that's what everyone says, so I know it must be true and so I remind myself that this is Blessing and these pictures remind me too, even the ones that capture messy hair and piles of papers on the counter, and runny noses. I hope they remind you of beauty and light and God's goodness in answered prayer the way they do for me.