Saturday, January 22, 2011

Mom and Maddie's Saturday Afternoon Stroll

Today, while dad and Ethan went to watch Uncle John place third out of 16 for wrestling, mom and Maddie decided we were going to go for a walk. It was such a BEAUTIFUL day, and mom wanted to take advantage of maybe getting some photography practice in. Well, that didn't work in my favor, but I did get to spend some quality time with my favorite daughter, exploring the outside, teaching her how to stop and look both ways, showing her different aspects of the nature around of, and of course to stop and look at the bears (statues) at the house up the street.

When we got up to the end of the street, Maddie pointed toward Highway 47 and kept asking for grandma and grandpa. I love that my kids are so directional that they know which way it is to get to places. So I asked if she wanted to walk to grandpa's house (which wasn't the best idea, since all we had was a water bottle, a camera and a backpack and leash) and she said yes. So off we went! We walked past Ace Hardware, and up to the sidewalk to safely cross the major roads. Of course at this time, Maddie was complaining because she had to be held, instead of being able to walk. We made it safely on to Quince St, and made our way to grandma and grandpa's house, which was just under a three mile walk ahead of us.
As we passed McMenamins, I realized that it probably wasn't the best idea to walk all the way there, since we didn't have a stroller for when her little legs couldn't carry her anymore. But we pressed on. We heard a dog barking across the street, to which my lovely and amazing child decided she was going to yell at and tell to be quiet the entire time. Then we passed by a wonderful older gentlemen and stopped to say hello, and wish a good afternoon to, upon carrying on.
We kept walking, and all of the sudden, my little lady's little legs were just not going to hold out anymore. And me, not having the best of backs, wasn't able to carry her the rest of the way, either way that we went. So we kept pressing on. Now mind you, I've done this walk quite a few times, but every time I've been prepared with a stroller, or a wagon, or even a bike trailer. But today, since my so lovely daughter wanted to wear her Minnie Mouse backpack, I was completely unprepared. And then, it donned on me. I was smart enough to leave our extra carseat in my parents car MONTHS ago. And since we were already half way there, I was sure grandma or grandpa would be willing to come save us from our not so smart decision. Sure enough, grandpa Doug came to the rescue. We loaded up the little lady in Ethan's carseat, which was able to be adjusted to keep her safe, and made our way to visit with grandma and grandpa for the afternoon. They were so kind, they fed us lunch, let us snack on whatever junk food we could find, and watch Prince and the Frog and Mickey Mouse for the afternoon. It couldn't have turned out more perfect.

And even though I didn't get to do any photography today, I wouldn't have changed to time I got to spend with my sweetest daughter, the fresh air and nice walk that we did get and the wonderful afternoon we spend hanging out with the grandparents. A great Saturday afternoon exploration!

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