A backyard walk

The day after my trail run adventure was a Saturday. Instead of going on a run, I went on a walk with the kids behind our house. They led me all over the farmland and fields, proudly showing me all of their favorite places to play, run, climb, and dig. It was sweet seeing the familiar places through their eyes. Even though the constant "Mommy, look!" can get exasperating at times, it really is fun being their number one Person To Show Everything. On this walk, I realized (again) that setting specific time aside to be fully present with my kids definitely brings that joy to the forefront. Instead of me feeling irked at being interrupted with a "come see this," I was already there in the moment, ready to look at all of their favorite places. 

Amber showed me her cross country biking skills and the fun mud puddles.

Rose showed me two good climbing trees.

Jay showed me the way around a small pond.

We admired the thick mint field. We balanced on the tiny pond's floating dock. We looked at the chickens a few houses down. We paused to feel the powdery soft dirt with our fingers. Over and over, Amber rode her bike ahead of us, then dropped it and dug in the dirt until we caught up to her. It was one of my favorite mornings in a long time. 

It's easy to get caught up in getting all of the things done on summer mornings before it gets too hot, but I thoroughly enjoyed taking it slow and wandering the countryside with my kids.

Amber is absolutely fascinated by these chickens. They belong to our bishop, who lives a few houses away from us. We must have stood watching the chickens be chickens for close to 15 minutes!

The mint is flowering? I know nothing about the different varieties of mint or their large scale cultivation practices. It is pretty though!

Irrigation ditch.

Mint and home. They go together.

Intrepid Amby, off roading.

Heading for our favorite willow tree. Jeff was on a bike ride during our walk, and while we were hanging out in the shade of that willow, he called and asked me to pick him up because his knee was hurting. Thus ended our lovely almost-hour-long ramble "out back."