Quiet Time.

Trip*Day 12

We had logged a lot of miles, 

seen a lot of places, 

met a lot of people, 

trekked a lot of trails.  

On day 12, we stayed home.

Not every minute has to be planned, entertained, and busy.  I'm grateful to say that my children can find joy in quiet moments, and Day 12 was full of them.  And so there is less to say, and less to show, but more to feel.

Nevan stayed in pajamas late, playing competitive sports.

Later, he and Mayzie, together, made up

Meanwhile,

Even after a few years of neglect, Grandma's yard sports bounties of flowers.

  

It's amazing to me that Meeka can pick flowers from the same beds that I did as a child, and put them in the same pitcher, and give them to the same special person. I am very lucky.  To this day, and because of this memory, hydrangeas are my favorite flower.

Giving makes Meeka dance.

We spent a lot of time just circling the yard, finding flowers, insects, toads, and allergies.

The kids took over the camera for a while and got these shots of Grandma telling me stories

and she and I laughing it up.

They also entertained themselves by taking pictures of each other.

Meeka spent a good part of her day following the life of this little guy. He really was

She loved putting out the dried corn cobs for him to eat.  While she watched the squirrels, the birds watched her.  They were waiting for the corn cobs.

We enjoyed watching the tree dwellers. We don't have squirrels in our neck of the desert.

Here's one of Grandma's squirrels with Meeka's empty corn cobs in backdrop. She sure did love the squirrels! I think in some way, they loved her, too.

It was a day of "nothing much to talk about."

We played, 

we imagined, 

we picked flowers, 

we gave presents, 

we fed squirrels, 

we entertained the birds (and each other), 

we told stories, 

we laughed, 

we danced, 

we talked, 

we explored, 

and we did it all at Grandma's house, 

without an XBox,

without a DS,

without a movie theater,

without a swimming pool,

and without neighbor children.  

We were our own best friends and entertainment.  

It was a perfect day.