A day for spontaneity

One morning last week, when Spencer was in Sydney, I got a call from my friend, Merlene.  She was calling to see if I needed anything.  I didn't, but mentioned that a fun outing might do my boys some good (it was a day when we didn't have anything in particular planned and I was getting ready to take them to the park).  She asked if we'd like to drive up into the hills and bake some potatoes in a fire.  Of course!

Eliot and Peter were in heaven.  Eliot helped Merlene find wood for the fire, he helped me blow on the flames to get the fire going, and Peter supervised and did some exploring of his own.

There was a walking stick for anyone who wanted one.

Eliot did a great job gathering wood for the fire.  It's really just gathering sticks, and he's been getting a lot of practice in over the last several months.

Stoking the fire.

Eliot was pretty impressed that we were cooking outside.  He hasn't stopped talking about it. 

Eliot thought Merlene's hat was the greatest ever.

Polishing off the yogurt.

When their hands look like this, you know it's been a good day.

On our way home from the picnic, both Eliot and Peter fell asleep in the back.  Instead of waking them up to take them up into the apartment, I dropped Merlene off (she had some things she needed to get done in the afternoon) and drove to the beach.  I found a shady spot to park and cracked the windows to let in some breeze.  When the boys eventually woke up, we got out and played for a bit at the beach before heading home for supper, shower, and bed.  They didn't have any trouble getting to sleep.