Picknick at Carkeek Park

With Jason out of town I have been trying to have more on the program everyday to fill the day. Luckily the weather has been great. We had high 60's and 70's. So yesterday we decided to have a Picknick lunch at Carkeek Park. And we were not the only ones who had this glorious idea. Many moms with preschool children and babies were there for the same reason. First we walked down to the beach. this turned out a difficult endeavor, since Amelia is very obsessed with water and constantly tried to reach any body of water. I had hoped she would just sit in the sand and play with shells, but she wanted more action. There is the Sound, very cold and scary, and there is a little (5 feet wide and 2 inches deep) stream that flows into the Sound. So I constantly had to hold on to the protesting Amelia while helping Marlene built a sandcastle. On one of her many trips to get more "building water", Marlene actually fell in. So now I had two wet children, and I decided it was time to leave the beach. I guess it is impossible to go alone with both of them to the beach. Up on the lawn by the playground Marlene got partially undresses and we laid her clothes out to dry (yes, I did not bring any extras). All three of us enjoyed the outdoor lunch very much. Then it was time to play at the playground. Unfortunately it was quite busy and we had to wait for the swings. A situation not improved by the fact that Amelia was overdue for her nap. Marlene went on the big salmon slide and we ended on the big teeter-totter. Here Amelia tried to bite the handle with the result, that she got hit in her gums pretty hard. I hoped this would produce a tooths, but now we have blue swollen gums. We had a lot of fun, it was a beautiful day at the beach and Amelia is learning to wear a sun hat.