treasure hunts & picnics

Yesterday was warm in Boston. Over 80 degrees and sunny. Beautiful weather. There was no chance that I could stay inside, so Abs and I decided to go on our first treasure hunting adventure.

A few days ago, I bought Abby a little clear box for just this purpose. After a quick tutorial on how the lid opens and how we can put things inside the box, we headed out to see what we could find.

We founds some good stuff. Rocks, leaves, twigs, and flowers. We hit the jackpot when we found half a walnut shell. :) At first, Abs was more interested in running around than collecting things. But, it didn't take her long to learn that once I pointed something out, she could go put it in her box.

After we collected things for a while, Abby decided to sit and explore her loot. She took everything out and put it all back in a few times.

testing out the walnut

I like this picture because she looks so focused.

our spoils :)

After all that treasure hunting, Abs was getting pretty hot. It's the first time I can think of that she actually asked to go back inside. The poor girl's face was flushed red and I know she was just not used to the heat. When I opened the door to go inside and she felt the cool air, she gave me a nice, "oooooooh!"

So, we cooled off and got things ready for the rest of the afternoon. I decided we would do a picnic for dinner. So, we went to pick up Kyle from work, I even remembered to bring him a change of clothes, and we headed to the park. Because I'm not superwoman, we picked up Subway for dinner, which was yummy, and still good picnic food.

the picnic was great, but Abby wasn't interested in staying still and eating of course. So, we took turns following her around while the other ate. Eventually, we all got to play together. The weather was gorgeous, the sun was low, the shade was comfortable.

There is little more rewarding that getting to spend an afternoon with Kyle and Abby just playing and relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

It was a great afternoon, one that I wish I could repeat often. Kyle and I even splurged later and treated ourselves to malts. Perfect. I'm looking forward to many more treasure hunts and picnics as summer approaches. It's the simple things that seem to bring the most joy, isn't it?