bouldering at Circuit; exploring at Arboretum

On Tuesday, I took the kids with me to my physical therapy appointment - Liesl was of course very curious and stood next to the treatment table the whole time asking questions and chattering to the PT and the aide. Sebastian read a book and remarked that it looked boring. :) Then we stopped by Steve's office to check out his new digs - he's on the 26th floor and has an amazing view of the city and the West Hills. From there, on to a toy store! Our stated mission was to find a new family puzzle, which we accomplished, but we also left Finnegan's with a dress-up veterinarian costume, art supplies, birthday presents, and a foam bow and arrow kit. What was I thinking????

Next, bouldering at the Circuit NE! This definitely fell into the category of adding a little salt to my own wounds, since I'm still not able to climb - but I was delighted to see Liesl really getting into it. She's fearless and strong and flexible, and is able to think creatively about moving around on the wall to move upwards. If she wasn't so into gymnastics, I'd enroll her in climbing classes. Sebastian struggles with both his strength and his comfort level, but he did well in pushing through both of those and trying his best.

We came home for lunch and lazing around, but in the late afternoon headed back out to Hoyt Arboretum. It was a bit of a struggle to convince Sebastian to go, but he ended up recovering and joining in the hiking/exploring with good cheer and enthusiasm. They investigated the acoustic qualities of a water drainpipe, leaped over a stream, went off-trail to find adventures, threw a baseball down a hill in order to chase it, and were in general delightful company. I was most proud that at the end, Sebastian acknowledged that he'd been wrong - said he'd had a really fun time and gave the experience an 8/10. I think it's a huge step for him.

We had great fun with this water drainage pipe - it opened on either side of the trail, and if you spoke softly into one side, your voice came booming out the other. It was awesome.

 Down to the water's edge they go, to jump across once and then back again, over and over.

 A boost by a big brother to climb up a slippery tree branch.

 We found your favorite, a skunk cabbage, dad!!

Last but not least, some post-dinner baseball on the street. It came to our attention that Liesl doesn't really know how to throw and is afraid of catching. Since she's starting T-ball this weekend, we need to work on those skills so she has a better time. I remembered how successfully Sebastian taught Liesl how to tie her shoes and decided that he needed to be her baseball coach. They were out there for an hour and she's already much better - starting to put her whole arm into the throw and connecting better with the hitting. Seb was patient and clear and Liesl was super focused and enthusiastic - yay!