A good day.

It is an absolutely gorgeous day. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and my two little hooligans are running wild in the backyard. It is a warm seventy degrees and we are enjoying every last minute of it. I am sitting on the back deck, barefoot, drinking this day in. Let's put it this way, if this day were vodka I would probably be drunk-dialing you right about now. It is just that good.

My older girls couldn't wait to get outside and run. I tortured them by making them eat lunch first and then opened the door. Out they went, hair flying behind them, the sound of little girl giggles filling the air. The were FREE!!! Free to run and climb and swing and slide! Their glee was contagious and suddenly I found myself sitting here grinning like a fool. Because I was just happy. Happy to have such a nice day and such nice kids.

Natalie automatically went to her "castle". The castle is actually a Little Tikes play gym with three levels, a tunnel, and two slides. I'm sure if we had boys we would refer to it as the fort or the hideout or the Playboy Mansion, but here in our land of all things girl it is the Princess Castle. We bought it from a friend of a friend when Natalie was still toddling about on shaky, unsure legs. It was a great deal and I knew if we didn't jump on it then we would be shelling out major money for one some day. I was SO right. It is THE place to be in our backyard for the under six set.

Vanessa ran to the castle too, but not to pretend to be rescued from the dragon by a prince who saw her true inner beauty like her big sister. No, she was headed to her favorite new outside adventure. Sliding. It is the same routine every time. Run like crazy to the castle, climb up until she gets to the very top, and then sit at the top of the slide for awhile trying to work up the courage to go down. She doesn't want help and I have learned not to squat at the bottom to catch her because what I will really catch is an earful of toddler language that I'm pretty sure translates into "I CAN DO IT WOMAN!! NOW STEP AWAY FROM THE SLIDE!!" After a while she scoots forward enough that there is no turning back and she has to go down. Whoosh. Down she goes, lands on her butt, hops up, brushes off her pants and starts the whole process over again. Except after that first time there is no hesitation. It is just climbing up and sliding down. Oh, and a whole lot of prideful laughter.

It is days like this that make me yearn for the Spring. It makes me ready for weeks of warm temps, not just days. We do live in Kansas however, and another cold front is on it's way. I was talking to my best friend on the phone today and she was lamenting more cold weather and wishing she was back living in Arizona where winter never comes. But I am glad our seasons change. It makes us appreciate when the weather is nice. It is like if we were never sad how would we know to be thankful we were happy? Winter makes us thankful for Spring. I am ready to be thankful.