Picnic

Man, have we lucked out with this weather here lately, or what? 

Beautiful blue skies filled with sunshine & puffy clouds.  Evening temperatures settled in at a comfortable 75 degrees.  And the gentlest breeze sweeping through our neck of the woods.

It has been absolutely glorious. 

On these types of days, I become like a little kid, just itching to get out of the house & into the great outdoors.

I pride myself on being a detailed "planner". It thrills me to have all of my dates & events carefully lined out on my calendar.  I like knowing the forecast for my week & month.  My mind feels less cluttered & muddled when I know where I'm going & what I'm on a mission to accomplish for the day & days to come.  I'm more productive when there's a plan in place.

But I'm also gradually learning that it's the impromptu happenings, the unplanned ones, the ones where we fly by the seat of our pants, that can sneak up & take the cake.

Impromptu happenings such as an evening picnic in the park.

A quick trip to the grocery store, some thrown together italian subs,  a package of hummus, some pasta salad, strawberry lemonade, & of course a box of store bought cookies, & you've got yourself a recipe for picnic perfection.

{There's so much I adore about this photo: the chubby cheeks, the rubberband wrist, & the callus on his chunky little thumb.  The parts of him that still whisper "baby".}

{I'm lovin' the little sprinkles stuck to those sweet lips.  And those eyelashes--thank you DaddyBoy!}

You know what I love most about little impromptu happenings?  They almost always yield the biggest smiles & the absolute sweetest, unsolicited hugs.  We can spend hours upon hours planning trips & activities that our family will remember, making mile long lists, planning out all of our activities.  We save our money, Jared takes time off work, & we venture off to make moments into memories that will last forever.  But in all of that hustling & bustling to make those memories, we often times miss out on moments like this:

{In the middle of our picnic, he stumbled to his feet, toddled over, wrapped his arms around me, & then planted several kisses on me.  His little way of saying "Thank you, Momma.  You rock.  And this picnic rocks."}

It takes so very little time, effort, & money to truly make memories that will last a lifetime.  Sometimes the simplest moments pack the biggest punch.  I was reminded of that through my little boy's toothy grin, the contentment on my husband's face, & the joy that filled my heart to the brim throughout our little picnic in the park.

Now, don't get me wrong.  The planner inside of me will press on.  It's who I am; it's what I've gotta do.  I'd be lost without a plan.  But I've learned to leave a little wiggle room in that plan of mine.  To leave space on the calendar for the next 70 something degree day that drops in & says, "Hey, why don't you  pack a basket & eat your dinner on a blanket tonight?"

{Jett's new "uh-oh" face.  I die.}

Yes, I'm leaving room for the impromptu.