Martin Nature Center

Happy Monday morning!  I hope you all had a great weekend.  It was HOT here.  The heat index on Sunday made it feel like 110 degrees.  I prefer warm weather, but that is just about unbearable.  So we mostly stayed inside, but by late Saturday afternoon we just needed to get out and move.  I tried to think of a nice shaded place to play, and of course I thought of Martin Nature Center!  It's one of my favorite places to go in any season and it is exactly 3.5 miles from my house.  Perfect fit!  We put Lucas down for an afternoon nap and Mike volunteered to stay home with him.  We didn't think a one year old should be out in such heat anyway.  But my mom, dad, Hannah and Leah and I all doused ourselves in sunscreen and headed outdoors for the afternoon. 

Ready to start

Leah brought a magnifying glass so she could look for bugs.

Papa and his girls

We cooled off inside the nature center for awhile.

We put on a little puppet show,

and saw plenty of animals like this cute, fat toad.  This guy reminded me of the toad in the book Tuck Everlasting which is one of my all time favorite young adult reads.

We eventually ended up here at the creek.  It is our favorite spot.  I let the girls wear their bathing suits since it was blazing hot outside.  They loved it!

Leah checking things out.

We stayed here for a long time as they played and played and explored and played....

Eventually they found a deeper spot to dive on in with full abandon.  Now that's one way to cool off.

My parents and I sat in the shade, chatted, and listened to the light breeze gently shake the leaves above us.  Even though we were all dripping in sweat, I still loved spending an afternoon outside in nature.