A Walk in the Park

Summer is for walking in the park.

My mom took me and my brothers exploring in the park when we were little. I took my kids exploring in the park. Now I get to take my grandkids to the park.

Usually when I have my oldest daughter's kids, I have them all. Today I only took two. The two born in the middle. We went to a park that was new to them, so we got to explore. Taking off over a hill, not knowing what we'd find, here was this little house. Just their size.

A little further along we came upon this cute bridge.

The path ended at the bridge, so we didn't go to the other side.

However, we spend a long time looking over the edge.

There was just enough water to be interesting.

Finally, there were the swings! 

What is a trip to the park without letting the wind whip at your hair on the swing?

This one says, "I swing myself, Grandma!"

Go to the park. Marvel at the beauty of God's creation.

If you can, take a child with you and explore something new.

And whatever you do, don't forget to swing!

Linking to....

Nannie's Christmas Box is Here!

Nannie is what my kids call my mom.

Right after Thanksgiving, Mom sends a "getting ready for Christmas" box in the mail to my family,

my sibling's families, and my two grown daughters.  I can't remember when she started this,

but it's something we look forward to every year. 

Who doesn't love to get a big box full of stuff in the mail?

This year's collection is a variety of new things and some old favorites.

Let's take a look inside!!

She always includes something she made by hand.  Here we have a lovely table runner!

Next are a few useful and educational things.

Here are some yummy mixes to try.

Of course, there is a large sampling of sweets to tempt us.
I call the Mocha Latte Espresso Beans!
Anna's Ginger Thins are amazing.
See the little snowball-looking thing?
It is literally a ball of sugar and at the center there is a nut.  A filbert, I think.  Yum.

Here we have the silly things.
The blue spider-thingy can be thrown at the wall where it sticks, then slowly "crawls" down.
The wind up rat?  Not so sure about that one.  Maybe that's for Hershey and Snickers.
Snickers would probably be scared of it.

And now for the weird Santa and Snowman Heads!
Look what they can do.....

I KNOW!  Just what we all need to make us happy during Christmas, right?  :-)

Thanks, Mom, for our Christmas Box!!

Isn't this a fun way to kick off the Christmas Season?

What would you include in a

"Getting Ready for Christmas" Box?