A Perfect Morning

Last Sunday morning was one of those perfect days. Papa surprised us by coming home extra early from his mountain bike ride, the sun was shining in full force and Stella was in great spirits after a week of sorta kinda fighting a little cold. So, after a warm bowl of porridge, we all bundled up for a meandering stroll on the interurban trail near our house.

Here Stella sits on Papa's shoulders while Grizzly - her favorite imaginary critter at the moment - sits on her shoulders. She kept hold of Grizzly's feet so conscientiously... until she asked me to hold Grizzly in my pocket. (I can't tell you how many imaginary friends I hold in my pockets these days. Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Grizzly Bear, "Pretend" Isaac and Scarlet.... I now make sure I always have pockets when we head out of the house.)

Stella is starting to enjoy filling her Gather Basket (Thank you, Grandma Jannie!) when we go for walks. We look for cool colored leaves or funny looking rocks and collect for a short spell. (Stella usually likes to free her gathered treasures after we've walked for awhile.) It's so fun to stand back and let her tell us what she finds interesting or beautiful. Nests and fallen trees definitely top the list at the moment.

To top it off? We set up an impromptu picnic of warm tea and satsumas in the living room when we got home. And since we heard a particularly intriguing frog ribbiting on the trail, Stella was more than thrilled to hunker down on Papa's lap to read all our frog stories - who knew we had six stories about frogs? - and sip some tea. Heaven.