A Wet Spring Break

Hurray! Spring is here! But, of course, spring break in Oregon was wet. That was no matter to Lily, who was just happy to be outside, boots and all. And not a huge matter to me, who was just happy to be on break!

We spent the first part of the break at Boppy and GrandDad's house, an outdoor lover's playground, with over 25 acres of woods to explore. We discovered, no surprise what with all the rain, that the little creek was running, much to Lily's delight. And, we spent much of the rest of our visit at the creek. She dragged Boppy, GrandDad, Uncle Bill, and the dogs out with us and splashed happily for hours. It was great for me too. I remember many hours of my own spent splashing in the creek. I must have been too stubborn, lazy, ? to put boots on myself, because I distinctly remember several times trying to figure out how to jump across the creek without falling to get to the rest of the woods as I played with my brother. As time moves forward, it was amazing to see Lily enjoy some of the same places and things I did when I was her age. I told her that Uncle Bill and I used to play out in the same woods she was running through. I'm not sure she ever figured it all out.

(Maggie loved playing in the creek with Lily too!)

The best part about the creek, for me, is that it was a safe water play area. The deepest part of the creek, as you can see above, went just about to the top of her boots. I knew the worst thing that could happen would be some wet feet and muddy blue leggings.

Back in Eugene, and missing the woods, Cassadie and I trekked out with the kids to Mt. Pisgah for some hiking in the rain. The last time we did this it also rained. We're getting good at taking pictures of the kids in their boots and rain jackets.

The rain never let up, and we all had some moments like this:

but, most of the moments were like these:

On our last day of spring break, the sun came out for a few lovely moments and Lily got to try out her new bike! She has been very excited about the new pink bike and is really ready to learn how to ride.
Before you go calling Child Protective Services for the picture above, I only let Lily wear the pink tiara to pose for some pictures. While she was riding, she wore her new ladybug helmet. We all hope she'll be a bike rider by this summer, if we can only get some more sunny days!
Hope you are all enjoying spring!