School Holidays and Our Park

Jayce is currently still in the middle of his school year.  He is finally nearing the end, which is not until the 3rd week of July.  (I know!!)

There are only 6 weeks (maybe 5?) of full summer vacation.  The school year is 3 terms: fall, spring, and summer, there is a week long half-term break in the middle of each and a 2 week break for the Christmas holiday season, which is why the summer break is so much smaller than what we're used to.Maybe Chris and I need to re-think the way that we celebrate holidays and travel for vacation, because it is pretty typical for parents to take off of work for some of the time whenever their children are on a half-term break.  But thus far, we haven't done that.  Chris works as usual, and I find various ways to keep the kids and I busy for random (at least to me) weeks off of school throughout the year.One very easy go-to outing is to head over to our park, as we call it sometimes.  Just down the street from our flat is a sweet little park, with a playground out front, trees and logs to climb on, and a small stream running alongside it.  We cut through it often on the way home from school for a quick playtime before dinner, Hannah and I stop by after dropping Jayce off at school sometimes to feed the ducks or run along the path beside the water, and sometimes we have a picnic.  This was a picnic day.Actually, it kind of wasn't.  Hannah took a few bites and was on the run. (Who can eat when there is a slide in plain sight?!)  

Also, despite the sunny sun in these pictures, it was surprisingly chilly.  There was a cold wind and even in the sun it was just a bit too cold for comfort.  So we played for a short bit, had a quick picnic, and then scooted home.This is actually one of my favorite things about this park.  It's so close and easy that even if the outing is a bit of a bust, it doesn't matter, we just head home.  Very little ventured, and typically something is gained.  It was still very beautiful and spring-y, the kids got some fresh air and exercise, and we got out of the flat for a bit.And we were happy.