What a Difference a Day Makes

 Sunday afternoon I took the boys on a walk to the park. 

On the way we have to cross a footbridge over Pine Creek.  The ice is off for the most part.  It's been really warm here for the last couple of weeks.

 I really need to get a double stroller.  I have this umbrella stroller I had the eight year old push.

And then there's this off road stroller.  I wish I had a double off road stroller.  I have a 6-seat stroller too that I use for the daycare, but that's a little much when it's just our kids.

 The baby really loved the outing.  He loves being outside, even if it is a little chilly.

 When the three year old saw that the fishing pond was free of ice, he told me, "Go get my fishing pole!"  We're going to have to do that soon. :)

 We really do have a very pretty park.

 It was nice enough that the eight year old took off his jacket and his shoes.

 There were big puddles everywhere.

 It worked better when we switched strollers for the way home.  The eight year old was making me nervous pushing the baby in the umbrella stroller.

 Of course we had to throw a few rocks in the water before we could head home.  We actually took a detour through the walking path and picked up a few bits of nature to draw at home.  Nature study is a big part of our homeschool. (We use the Charlotte Mason method for those of you in the know.)  I was getting frustrated with the daycare keeping us from being able to go for hikes and explore nature.  During our outing Sunday I realized we just need to make a point of doing that on the weekends.  Next week, I'll be prepared with a backpack of supplies - sketchbooks, pencils, colored pencils, a container to use to collect small things to draw during the week, and something waterproof to sit on.  But since that didn't occur to me until we were on the walk, we just picked up a few simple items to sketch at home - a piece of a pine branch, a couple different kinds of pinecones, and a seed head from a very tall grass of some sort.

 This wall of art sits at the end of the walking path.

 Here's a closer look.  The tiles around the outside edges were done by some of the area's senior citizens several years ago.

This wagon was made by my husband's great grandmother.  She traveled to the west in a sheepherder's wagon.  She lived to be something like 104 years old or so, so we got to know her pretty well.

 Anyway, I mentioned in the title that a lot can change in a day.  The weather in Wyoming is a prime example of that.  Around 2:30, it started snowing.

 By five, it looked more like this.  I would guess we had 2-3 inches, but it's hard to tell because it was melting too.  It was a very wet, heavy Spring snow.  I went out for some errands around noon, and it was windy and really chilly, but the thermometer in our vehicle said it was 49*.  Then it started blowing like crazy, and a few small flakes began to fall - all with the temperature staying the same.  It was an unusual storm.  I don't know when Spring will get here for real, but it's pretty common for us to have snow through the end of June (not steady, but off and on) so I'm not getting my sandals out yet.  It's strange to see all the blogs with everyone having such an early Spring all over the rest of the country.