Spring Evenings

Texas gets a bad rap for its weather, but in my opinion, it's really pretty great here.  The summers are pretty miserable, but I love the weather the other 9 months of the year.  The fall and spring have been amazing this year, and I even love our chilly (but not miserably-so) winters.  Now that I have kids, we spend SO much time outside and it makes one remain very closely attuned to any weather changes (a marked change from my previous life; I remember spending so much time in the office that I had no idea what the weather had been like for days at a time).  All that to say that we have really been enjoying the beautiful spring days recently.  Clint and I have tried to make use of our longer days by getting outside in the early evenings and taking walks or bike rides.  The kids love exploring our neighborhood and the lake, and we love getting out of the house!

Last night, we took Evie on her first bike ride around the lake.  Clint and Charlie have been riding together for a year and a half now.  They love it, so Evie and I decided we would get in on the fun.  We are hooked!  Sweet girl chatted with me, barked at dogs, and waved at most of the people we passed.  She was so much fun!  I did realize that one of the downsides to having a big brother is that Miss E will likely never have a cute, pink bike helmet when there's a perfectly good black one to pass down to her... :)

Here's me and Evie on her inaugural bike ride:

Our other little chatterbox chattered the whole way around the lake.  Poor Clint was peppered with every "why" question you can think of, and I was frequently berated for not going fast enough (apparently there was a bear chasing me for a large portion of the journey and Charlie was very nervous that I wasn't going fast enough to outrun it :).

We also love our evening walks/trike/scooter rides.  It takes us an hour to travel a few blocks, but we don't leave a stone unturned!  Our walks involve lots of pretending, and there is usually a bear hunt or chase of some kind.  Charlie loves anything that looks like it might be a forest--it just gets his imagination racing. :) 

Charlie usually likes a mix of trike or scooter riding (or, in this case, wild pushing) and running/walking.

 Evie prefers a leisurely stroll...

 We always have to stop to fish...

...and scatter dandelion seeds.  Evie has started blowing on every flower she sees, dandelion or not. :)

Let's hope the weather stays pretty for a few more months!