I took the girls to a local park to swim today. About thirty yards from our Jeep, we set up under these trees in the shade.

This is the view from our seats.

It wasn't very deep. In most places it was only a foot or so. The girls kept their shoes on to help them walk on the rocks.

We brought sandwiches, green apples, granola bars and a cooler full of drinks.

I've learned from experience that if I pack a cooler full of drinks, snacks and sandwiches we will be able to stay up to four hours in some place. I think it's well worth the effort it takes up front to bring all the stuff I do because it allows us to be comfortable enough to "camp" somewhere for the bulk of an afternoon.


We did a lot of exploring and nature study. Norah watched this bug fly right into a spider web and get stuck. She wanted to rescue it, but I made her leave it since the spider probably needed the meal.


I blew up the canoe Dwayne's mom, Grandma Karen, bought us a few years ago and Norah used Dwayne's hamburger turner wrapped in packing tape for a paddle. She went back and forth and in circles all day. We walked up and down the river exploring. Many times I'd let Avril sit in the canoe and I'd pull her along behind us so she wasn't exhausted.


It's a good thing Fly Lady has us cleaning out our cars every Friday. This is just the spot on the seat that was under my cooler, you should see the floor boards.


We brought home a friend. Norah spotted the frog and I caught him with our bucket. (Having kids makes me much more brave than I would be without them.) We emptied our cooler of ice and bottles and filled it up again with river water and rocks and sticks so our little friend would feel at home. When we got home, we transferred everything into our plastic aquarium.