Sunday fun!

Estelle pushing Stuart across footbridge over the Willamette River

In the bubble room at the Children's Museum

I know this is a terrible picture (blurry, out of focus, etc.) but I like how her hair appears to be on fire!

View from the park-love the old buildings!

More neat old buildings, as seen from the park.

One of the challenges of a large family with a wide range of ages is finding family activities that everyone enjoys. My older children still enjoy playing at the park and taking walks, but the children's museum is out of the question. Yesterday, we went to the seven a.m. Latin Mass, where my husband led the schola and the older boys served. This left us with the rest of the day free. The farmer took the three older children to the beach (his mom had rented a house for the extended family and the younger children and I had spent the day there on Saturday), leaving the three youngers and I with lots of time for a fun outing. We began by taking Stuart to Learning Palace to play with the train set there, while I shopped for some new school supplies. Next on our list was a walk across the Willamette River, one of our favorite activities. Although I must confess to an irrational fear of the bridge breaking when I am halfway across. Our next stop was the children's museum, where we spent two hours playing and running around on their awesome outdoor play structure. Stuart loved the model train there, and kept trying to sneak back to that room. We left the museum to go to our favorite hangout, Napoleon's gelateria- also home to the best latte's in Salem. The gelato is delicious, but kind of expensive, especially for the whole family. Taking only three children was a fun treat. Our next stop was the Book Bin, where we each bought a book. Nancy Drew for Evangeline, a truck book for Stuart, a Tin Tin sticker book for Estelle, and a cooking book for me. Then it was off to Bush Park, to play at the playground where I always played when I was little. The girls quickly made a new friend, and Stuart spent the entire 45 minutes on the swing set. I sat on a bench and read the news on my phone. We then drove to Trader Joes, picked up some picnic food, and headed to the nearby (and totally charming) small town of Independence to check out their city park and have a picnic. The real reason for this trek was to get Stuart to fall asleep in the car (he did!) as he was showing signs (crying, whining, kicking...) of being overly tired. The park was beautiful, and by this point in the day the sun was shining, the sky was a clear blue, and it was actually warm enough to make being outside pleasant. It was so pleasant to have a day with nothing else to do other than enjoy being with my children. No pressure, no time restraints, just a day to do as our fancy dictated! I start the week feeling truly relaxed, and ready to tackle another week!