February 19

It was another unseasonably lovely day, so of course we spent it outside.

First, we went to church, and made it on time for the second week in a row! After, we made our routine trip to Costco, but this time we snagged a pizza for a picnic at the park where Chris and I were married. It's one of the kids' favorite things.

This girl is happy for sunshine, and happy for that giant apple pear in her hand. 

Yes, I said apple pear. Her Classical Conversations tutor told her that it is her favorite thing to buy at Costco, with the crunch of an apple but the sweetness of a pair.

Daisy  heard that and latched onto it, and has been asking to get them all week. She was not disappointed. 

(Truthfully, I think it is affection for her tutor, rather than the deliciousness of this hybrid fruit that is making her so happy. It's only so-so.)

Lily devoured her slice of pizza in front of the tree I had planted in honor of our 10th wedding anniversary.

Yes, she's wearing her Christmas snowflake dress. She's cool like that. 

It looks like Chris and the kids are trying to get up close and personal with the geese, but really there were two turtles right there on the edge that they were watching. The geese came up in hopes of food. Caleb generously shared his pizza crust with them. I have no idea who the people behind them are.

After lunch, we headed home for naps. Eli's was much too short and Lily's was nonexistent, but we made up for it with a family bike ride before small group. Caleb insisted on riding the bike that we gave him for his fourth birthday, even though it is much too small and he has a perfectly good bigger one. Really, he didn't want to go on the bike ride at all because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to do it. There may have been yelling and tears. 

I have no pictures, but Chris handled the younger three (Eli in his seat up by Chris' handle bars, Daisy on the Tagalong, and Lily in the trailer) while Caleb and I rode behind. The fun thing about riding behind Chris in that setup is getting to watch all of the people do double-takes as he rides past. It really is a truly impressive site!

We did a quick 3-mile ride, stopping at one point to examine some tree stumps that had recently been gnawed by beavers. In the end, Caleb dominated the bike ride and even learned to stand on his pedals to push with extra power. I'm hopeful the ride left him feeling confident enough to try the bigger bike!