Picnic in Pullen Park

Somehow today actually felt like a holiday. Which is strange because in these parts, most people don't actually get to skip work for MLK day. And technically I don't get any holidays off. But Mark didn't need to go into the office, and we had nothing planned -- no errands to run, no meetings, no housework or projects to speak of, etc -- so it felt very much like a day "off" for us.

So since the weather is finally gorgeous again (and I do mean gorgeous -- almost 60 and sunny), we decided to have a picnic at Pullen Park here
in Raleigh.

We like going there with Nathan because besides the normal park attractions (fields to play in, paths to walk on, playground equipment to swing and climb on, ducks to feed) they also have a big caboose that kids can climb on and in. And in case I haven't mentioned it before, Nathan is kind of into trains. And stuff.

(There is also a merry-go-round and boat ride and some kind of train/trolley you can ride on, but that stuff costs money and Nathan gets just as much enjoyment out of watching those things than actually doing them. For now anyway. So we usually skip them.)

But when we got to the park today, everything was closed down for renovation. No playground equipment, no "riding" the caboose, no swings. We still had a great morning as a family, though -- we walked the path around the pond twice, we had a picnic lunch, we saw ducks and geese, and (best of all) we saw the trucks of the workers doing the renovating. Oh yeah, we hit the big time.

And when you're a toddler, you don't need fancy attractions to stay entertained. You can make your own fun. Nathan had a ball running up and down hills (he ran everywhere as though he was crossing a finish line, arms up in the air -- hilarious), trying to push over every wooden pillar we walked by, and waving at the ducks.

Praise the Lord for the beauty of this day!