Sometimes ordinary days are the best kind. Don’t get me wrong, Little G and I love to get out, go on adventures, and visit fun places, but sometimes normal, everyday kind of days equally wonderful. Today was one of those.
Some H2O and an energy bite post-swimming lesson. (I’m happy to report, by the way, that our submersion day went well. It was presented in a way I was comfortable trying and Miss Grae did not come up choking, crying, or looking at me like I had betrayed her. In fact, she seemed just fine. Yay for that.)
A playground stop was in order afterwards. Shhhhh… Don’t tell Mama Gracen’s hiding.
Strolling in the sunshine.
In the words of Grae, “dig-a-dig-a-dig-ah”.
Backyard antics.
A quiet moment in the shade of our plum tree.
Tricycle tricks.
Sandbox play with the little girl from downstairs.
Itty bitty bookworm.
An afternoon treat – frothy raspberry milk.
Just like Mama. (Grae loves this ring I had custom made in Kuwait. It says ‘Brad and Jen’ in Arabic, so I love that she loves it.)
A homemade popsicle for dessert.
Double-fisting. (Of course Mama’s desert looked just as yummy as her own.)
Oops. That’s not the popsicle hand.
Freshly bathed and ready for bedtime stories.
I’m so lucky to spend my days soaking in these magical little moments.
♥
Water collection.
Cruisin’ around the water park (can’t wait ’til it opens!)
Paddle boarders passing by.
Unicycle excitement. (Grae was more interested in the rocks.)
First visit to Jericho Beach.
Sand scooping.
Collecting.
“Gifts” for Mama.
Dandelion puff collection.
A serious sunhat.
Missing hands and feet.
Freshly bloomed.
Dirty little hands.
Afternoon snacks.
Watermelon monster.
Garden investigating.
Homegrown strawberries in progress.
Lawn rolling.
Pussywillow plucking.
A shoe full.
A teeny friend.
Log driving.
Monkey.
A Sunday morning treat.
Grae’s idea of beach footwear.
Giggles.
In search of treasure.
Treasure collection.
Stuck.
Vancouver girl.
Sliding.
Trying to balance like Papa.
Swinging froggy-style.
Wheee!
Mama’s turn.
Just chillin’.
Little climber.
‘I’d be much happier if I had some company on this cool merry-go-round’…
Somehow I got convinced. Barf.
Our favourite – a saucer swing!
Riding on her “bell buh” (bellybutton), as she calls it.
Her favourite way to ride… While someone sang Rock a Bye Baby of course.
I think we nearly put her to sleep! Time for dinner, a bath, and bedtime.
After our thrifting adventure, we walked hand and hand down the sidewalk, popping in and out of shops, visiting with puppies, and waving at strangers.
Stopping at this flower shop was a must. Of course Miss G smelled her way down the line.
Our next stop was a gorgeous little toy store. The moment Gracen spotted the window display, she shouted “Nin! Nin!” (In! In!) and pulled me towards the door. Almost every item in the shop was absolutely beautiful and the best part was that in the back there was a little play area for munchkins.
Last stop – treats! An Apricot Delight Roll from Cobs for Miss G and an iced coffee from Artigiano’s for Mama… The perfect ending to our afternoon. ♥
I absolutely adore how magical the little things are when seen through Gracen’s eyes.
A couple of weeks ago, we picked up this cute little crab sandbox for Grae on sale for half price. Big score – she loves it. I think we’ve spent every nice afternoon in it since we filled it up.
We arrived fairly early on, meaning that Gracen had her pick of equipment to test out and play with.
We really didn’t know how to properly use this little contraption, but all that mattered to Grae was that it was purple, sparkly, and perfect for swinging around.
After enjoying the toys, we joined the mass and lined up to create some outdoor art. First job – collecting a stash of pretty rocks, glass stones, and shells.
Gracen would have been perfectly happy if playing with her pretty rocks was the activity in itself.
But there was more… We were waiting on some cement mix.
When it arrived, she carefully transferred her gems into the mix, giving each a gentle poke in order to set them in.
With her project finished and in the drying area, we headed off to the face painting station. Earlier on, Grae had seen a little girl with a sparkly butterfly mask painted on her face, and she was certain she wanted one too. The line was painfully slow moving, but we used our time in it as a lunch break and made some friends along the way.
Before we knew it, it was Gracen’s turn.
She sat bravely and patiently, inspecting the artist as she painted.
When it came time to painting the black outline, Grae decided she was done and wanted nothing more to do with the whole process. Luckily, the painter had a trick up her sleeves – sparkles!
So with the promise of sparkles being added at the end, Miss G sat a minute longer.
And she was glad she did. You should have seen the proud little look on her face when she saw herself in the mirror!
Face painting complete, my little butterfly and I headed back to collect her {almost} dry garden rock.
Pleased as punch, she insisted on walking herself out of the park and carrying her cement block the entire way. I’d say it was a good day.
And more than anything, I was thrilled that I had finally followed through on my silly little promise. Lesson learned.