Picnic Perfect Weekend

The weather was lousy here on Saturday, rainy and cold all day.  Ian matched his temperament with the weather that day.  Luckily Sunday and Monday both dawned sunny in both weather (right around 70) and disposition and we were able to have picnics both days.

Sunday we went and explored Schramm State Park, just south of Gretna.  You can tell it's fallen on hard times thanks to the budget, but we still had a great time. We ate a picnic lunch and then began exploring. It is home to a hatchery and the kids had a blast feeding the fish and the ducks would eat the food right out of your hand (of course, we didn't bring money for the fish food, so we only had enough after feeding the fish for one bite from the ducks).





One of the lagoons had this gross covering over all of it, and as we approached, we thought we wouldn't see anything. Turns out it was my favorite lagoon. Frogs would pop up through the covering, then quickly go under just to pop up nearby a second later. And on the lily pads we spotted a turtle.





Our favorite part was walking the miles of trails. It was flat enough that even Annaliese could walk most of it herself (though Darrin did carry her in parts... she is a slow walker). While we were walking, Ian would run ahead, turn around, and hold out his arms for Annaliese. She would scream with pleasure, pick up the pace, and head into his arms for a hug. This continued over and over on the trip. Loved it!







And of course, Ian needed a turn with the camera, capturing this shot.




On Monday, we headed to a local town park for another picnic lunch and some playing on the park equipment.













It was such a relaxing weekend (if you look at my to-do list, you'd know it was. Only one thing was crossed off). It makes going back to work even harder. At least it's only a four-day week!