Halcyon Days

Today shaped up into a beautiful day (naturally, since we didn't plan on having a yard sale today). While Ted was off tending to the beginnings of having the hail damage to the cars repaired, Julie took the bambini on a walk. Clara was in the stroller, and Joe was on foot, with a stuffed dog and his bubble-blowing lawn mower. It was quite the parade. Things got even more festive when we turned on to Graham and Connor's street and found them headed out on a walk, too! Derek and Amy stayed behind while Sara and Julie continued on with the kids and so we were four kids, two adults, two strollers, one stuffed dog, and one lawn mower. Once we were pretty deep into the neighborhood and on a street without sidewalks, Sara and Julie let the boys run (by this time, Julie was carrying the lawn mower). There probably are few things more fantastic to the three-year-old heart than tearing down the middle of the street on a sunny day. Then, Sara and Julie turned the boys on to running down the sidewalk to the fire hydrants at the end of each block. Turns out, this was even more fabulous than tearing down the middle of the street! (When regaling Ted later with his adventures in Ted's absence, Joe relayed that he'd piled grass on top of a fire hydrant. True, Fans. True.) At least four fire hydrants were visited.

We don't have a picture of all this. But Julie took one with her heart, because there are few things more fantastic than walking around the neighborhood on a sunny afternoon with your best friend, pushing the little ones tucked into the strollers, and watching the two big ones laughing and running all the way to the next fire hydrant.

By this time next weekend, Graham and Connor will have moved to their new house. You know what that means, Fans: a whole new crop of fire hydrants to run to, check out, and pile grass on top of. We can't wait.