Snails and Tadpoles

So, today was just one of those days. One of those days that convinces me that my children are insane, and I'm even crazier.  We all had an "off" day but one ornery 4 yr old boy really kept life particularly interesting from dawn till dusk.  The same boy who exclaimed on our morning walk "Look a four leaf clover, it's my lucky day!"..which sounds more like "wutty day".  Maybe if it was actually a 4 leaf clover our day would have gone smoother.  Or maybe it was our "wutty day"....

 if "wutty day" is defined as  a 3 kids to the dentist, tantrums in a grocery store, child nearly run over by a truck in the parking lot,  sugar cereal begging, displays knocked over,  random bleeding injuries, spilled milk,  spent too much money..mommy needs a stiff drink and a personal masseuse kind of day.  

Fortunately the 1 year old spent some time with Grandma this afternoon and missed the fun.  

As I got in the car to drive home I resolved never to take them out in public again.  

  In order to cleanse my myself of the wailing, whining, bouncing, shrieking, bickering, and general gnashing of teeth still reverberating in my ears  I am going to focus this post on yesterday.

Yesterday was a fun day.  

Maybe I'll remember once again how sweet my kids usually  often   sometimes are. 

Good friends.

Beautiful location.

Sunshine.

What started as a stroll, 

quickly became a quest for swimming, crawling, and hopping creatures.

Tadpole hunting is serious business.

Go hard or go home.

"Are you sure there aren't any beavers in here?"

Glad I packed extra clothes.

My friend, Jessica (the tall woman in the second picture), took some family pictures of us while we were visiting!  I'm excited to see what magic she worked with our notoriously unphotogenic family.  I haven't seen them yet.   Nathanael snapped a couple pics with our camera while we were hanging  out waiting for the kids to take their individual photos.   I had no idea he took this picture while I was trying to keep an overtired toddler entertained.  It makes me laugh....and I need a good laugh this evening.