We went to Spokane over the weekend to visit my parents.  Both my brothers, my sister-in-law and my nephew were there as well, so it made for a fun family gathering.  Stella and her cousin, Jacob, are just a few months apart and get along very well.  They spent most of the day playing, with few fights.

We also spent quite a bit of time walking and playing at the different parks near my parent’s house.  The kids tried all the different big toys – climbing ladders, going down (and climbing up) slides, swinging and running.  Stella is very fixated on the monkey bars and wants to do them over and over again.

The kids also ran, and ran, and ran.  One park had a big pond, so we walked around it, looking for turtles and frogs.  We really didn’t see any amphibians, but we were stalked by ducks looking for bread.  At one point the kids climbed up a tree that overlooked the pond.

As I took their picture, I couldn’t help but notice how happy and free they both looked.  There is just something about climbing trees, running around and swinging through the air – oh to be a kid again 🙂