On Saturday, Chris surprised me with the gift of offering to take the three children on a hike to South Mountain for the day--gorgeous weather, 70 degrees, sunny--so I could stay home with the baby and finish getting the house back in order from our vacation. (And then the baby gave me the gift of napping for three hours! Unheard of!)
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| Really happy with their Good Hiking Sticks |
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| A nice safe photo of which a mother approves |
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| A scary, seemingly dangerous photo which makes a mother get all tense |
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This photo gives us a glimpse into Mary as a much older girl,
makes us think of the fleetingness of years |
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| John walking along glum: note the broken-in-half Good Walking Stick |
Chris felt that this outing illustrated a difference between Mary (5) and Margaret (3). When Mary first went on this hike to South Mountain, she was either newly two (
as in this blog post), or even younger (we think there was an earlier trip) . . . and on that trip she continually ran ahead of Daddy, full steam, and climbed everything, with Chris calling out to her, "Come back! Don't climb that! Be careful!" She loved it!
But yesterday, Chris took Margaret (3) whom he reported nearly burst the hiker's ear drums with her terrified screams each time a bug flew by. She was the one calling out, "Daddy! Slow down! Wait for me, everyone!" And she insisted on holding Daddy's hand or riding on his shoulders. When she got home, she told me that she "didn't like it" and she would rather have stayed home with me.
What wonderful gifts for you ! My daughters are very different too, but the oldest is nervous nelly and her little sister is fearless ! I also wanted to thank you for sharing so much of your vacation. It was just lovely to follow your adventures !
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