Spending Time Outdoors....

WARNING! Long post AHEAD! Spending time outdoors is something I took for granted -- until last summer. Last year, at this time, I was about two weeks away from giving birth to Kate -- a month before her actual due date. BUT, I didn't know she would be born so early at that time. I was on restricted activity (for my pregnancy-induced hypertension) with an active 3 1/2 year-old boy. I was emotionally and mentally MISERABLE. I think I can say with almost 100% certainty that I was miserable for other people to be around (mainly my poor spouse). Luke & I were cooped up BIG TIME! Then, Kate was born a month early. We did our best to keep her away from other people -- especially for that first month of her life. We were really having to be very intentional about feeding her. I was recovering from a C-Section. Marc worked a TON of hours the first two months (or so) after her birth. I was tired from being up at night with a newborn. SO, I honestly do "feel" like last summer was a complete bust for Luke and me. To be perfectly logical, one bum summer out of my entire life (and Luke's) is really no big deal, but at the time (and for the entire last year), I have felt like Luke and I seriously missed out. SO, I'm determined that this summer will be much better. Luke just finished up his last day of preschool the other day, but already (before it gets too hot), I'm doing my best to get outside for some activity each and every day -- with both of our kiddos. So, we'll start this post with yesterday....After Kate's morning nap, I loaded up Luke's bike. We went to a nearby neighborhood to have Luke practice bike-riding on the street. (We live on an AWESOME street with very little traffic, but once you leave our street, it's not the best area for a 4 1/2 year-old boy to learn how to safely ride on a street). Let's just say that I'm glad we did this practicing, and we WILL be out more this summer -- doing this very thing some more. Luke is a distracted boy (probably normal at his age)....he frequently forgot to pay attention to where he was going or the fact that cars do drive on streets. Luke rode for more than a mile while I pushed Kate in the stroller. Kate did AWESOME as well -- watching her big brother. After the "practice bike ride in the street," I let Luke play at the park while Kate did her normal swinging. I also had packed a picnic lunch for all 3 of us to eat at the park. I put on Instagram and Facebook that there's something pretty neat about watching kids' smile when they swing. Yesterday, our two kiddos demonstrated that joy! After eating our lunch, we discovered a bird's nest under the park shelter. I climbed up to look and discovered two baby birds. I was careful to not make the mother think I was intruding (I actually didn't even see the Mama Bird). BUT, it was certainly fun to show Luke (and will be fun to show Kate someday).... This past week, we've had some absolutely PHENOMENAL and GORGEOUS evenings. It's been great to spend time outside as a family. You might recall that we have our first ever "Friesen Family Garden" going on in our backyard. Last night, Marc & Luke did some watering. You'll notice in these following pics that Marc is most definitely helping Luke. We had a little bit of an incident last week with Luke, again, not paying attention. He ended up spraying Marc, Kate, and me. Oh -- the lessons to learn throughout life.... As far as how our garden is going -- well, we're honestly not sure. The tomato plants have definitely grown. Sweet corn has popped up out of the ground. Unfortunately, nothing else has. So, we're not sure if most of this garden will fail or if we simply need to allow more time (even though more should have popped out of the ground by now). We'll see -- it's our first garden. Then, today, once again after Kate's nap, we went on a bit of a nature walk. First, Luke ALWAYS has to check out all of the maps on the "trail." If you know my dad, you know Luke gets this map fascination from him. Marc reminded me tonight that "map people" can get good jobs! There were some very pretty daisies along the path. I pretty much forced Luke to look at them (which he did do willingly, by the way). I really enjoy daisies because "they're just the friendliest flower." (Name that movie).... And, on this particular "hill," Luke thoroughly enjoys running up and down. And today, he, once again, insisted I take a pic of him running... Luke really wanted to take a pic of Kate and me....I think he actually did a GREAT job.... AND, he also insisted on a pic of him and his sister....He LOVES her so! And, to end our "nature walk," Luke just happily posed for me....I LOVE it when he does that.... After our walk, we went on yet another picnic. Luke enjoys picnics, and Kate seems to as well -- Yay! We had a little bit of time left to briefly play at the park before we really needed to get home for Kate's nap.... Despite the sheer joy of bringing a child into this world, last summer was H.A.R.D. While I'm grateful for Kate and her safe arrival into this world, I certainly don't want to repeat some of the anguish of last summer. BUT, I did learn something -- to not take the summer, the outdoors, and the ability to do "things" outside for granted. Before having kids, but after adulthood, I honestly didn't like summers. They weren't any different than the rest of the year in that I still had to work -- only I had to deal with the extreme heat in Kansas. BUT, summers with kids are fun! I'm very grateful my husband and I made the decision and the sacrifice to have me stay home with the kiddos. I'd sure be missing out on a lot with them right now!