On Saturday, after Sebastian's swimming lesson (the first of the series; marked by tears and anxiety), I took the children to the Hoyt Arboretum to run off some energy. It was raining, but they were cheerfully undaunted. We ran from big tree cover to to big tree cover, cuddling under the protective awning. We "fished" in the little stream. We gathered big sticks which we pretended were tunnels to run under or ropes to hop over. It was grand fun.
And then on Sunday, once the rain had stopped, Sebastian and I walked up the Balch Creek trail to the fairy house. The normally sleepy stream had swollen to a fast-paced river marked by rapids and little waterfalls - very fun to see. We got to have a fun little conversation about flooding and water displacement and erosion.
Liesl was feeling tired and cranky, and Steve's knees were bothering him after an earlier long run, and so they only walked in a little way - they visited our favorite ice cream store instead and had tastings of the newest flavors. :)
I have really been noticing the passage of time during our recent hikes together. Walks that would have taken us a couple of hours last January - hikes that would have qualified as full morning activities, and probably required carrying Liesl - now take us under an hour. The children run and skip and jump half the time, and are not tired at the conclusion. Seb and I made it to the fairy house and back in 35 minutes. I couldn't believe it. I love seeing the kids get stronger and faster, but it also makes me sad to remember that time passes so quickly when you have young children.
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