Some Recent Joy

Just in case you are wondering, this is going to be one of those photo dump posts…

The weather has been flirting with spring, and the end of last week was quite lovely.  I spend my birthday hiking around a new park with the girls and a tribe of mamas and little ones.

The weather was beautiful and the views were gorgeous:

It turned out to be the perfect low-key way to spend a birthday afternoon.  After the hike, we arrived back at the house to find Chris home early from work, cleaning the kitchen and getting ready to make me dinner.  How did I get so lucky?

We weren’t the only ones who enjoyed spring sunshine.  Pip, too, is spending more and more time outside and he is loving it.  It took us a couple weeks to figure out to make our fence completely escape-proof (Pip can squeeze out of the tiniest holes), but now that it is, he is pretty darn happy to spend as much time lounging in the sun as possible.

Also, he occasionally gets in the mood to chase a Frisbee…

(We’ve just learned not to hold our breath waiting for him to bring it back.)

Saturday was dreary and miserable again, but we were happy as can be.  We decided last minute to spoil the girls (really, Nora who is in full-on princess-adoration mode) with tickets to Disney on Ice.  We debated whether or not the money was worth it, but watching their reactions for just 10 seconds made it worth it.

Nora pretty much sat, mouth open in wonderment, the entire time.  Zara was literally exploding with happiness.

She jumped around on her seat, alternating between pointing and yelling (especially when Goofy was on) and hugging and kissing Chris repeatedly.  That might have been the best toddler “thank you” ever.

The show itself was pretty amazing.  Of course we saw princesses.

Lots and lots of princesses.

And there were tons of incredibly impressive ice skating displays.

And what would be a Disney experience without “fireworks” at the end?

Nora has been talking more and more about Disney World.  I’m honestly not even sure where she heard of it, but she wants to go like nothing else.  We told her that after we finish paying off our student loans we will be able to save money for our first real family vacation and that Disney World might be a possibility.  Part of me dreads a vacation like that, but another part of me can’t wait to give an experience like that to my children, especially if they are going to act in any way like they did at the Disney on Ice show.

Every once in a while I forget and then am reminded again of how magical it is to watch children experience the world.  Whether I am watching them indulge their fantasies or discover the feeling of dirt between their toes, it always reminds me of how slowing down and spending time in just a moment can make the world so much more beautiful.