When I was a kid I was the serious outdoor type. The thought of being contained in a classroom all day was torture.

I was constantly marching up and down the street knocking on doors in search of someone to play with. Even in the sixth and the seventh grade when you are supposed to be too cool to “play” I would be found touting the words, “Can you come out and play?”

I never outgrew this phase apparently. You can ask my brother-in-law Bryce who was surprised to find that I carry roller blades in the trunk of my car just in case the need arises. To this day I still wear shorts under my summer dresses. I never know when I’ll feel the urge to do a cart wheel or flip upside down on the monkey bars.

Today was one of those days where I couldn’t contain myself. I had to be outside!

It started off at 6:30 with a run. It was the first morning I didn’t have to wear a jacket all year and it was gorgeous out.

When I got home I was in the best mood. Being a pedestrian always does that to me. I whipped up a green smoothie for me and some rocky mountain toast for the girls. It was so beautiful, outdoor dining was a must.

After I dropped Bridget off at school and got Penelope down for a nap I decided to brew some sun tea.

Tea reminds me of home (Texas) and I couldn’t help but think that my friend Sarah would be super proud of my southern moment. Many years ago Sarah came out to Colorado for my wedding. During that time we had a dinner at my in-law’s house. During the dinner Sarah was shocked to find that the tea didn’t have any sugar in it. She turned to my mother-in-law and in her thick Texas accent asked, “Do ya’ll have sweet tea?”

Brent’s family got a kick out of her southern drawl. Sarah also tried to take a yoga class before the dress rehearsal and passed out because she wasn’t used to the altitude. She woke up to the people saying, “Oh my God! The Texas girl passed out!” Of course we teased her about that too…

But then during my first year of living out here in Colorado she came to visit me and made me fried green tomatoes to heal my homesick heart. She’s the best.

Anyway, as soon as Penelope woke up from her nap which took all of ten minutes we headed out the door for our first picnic of the year with her friend Lucy!

Penelope and Lucy have been best friends for years… they go way back to the fetus days.

Penelope spent most of this time checking out everyone else’s picnics, sitting down on other people’s blankets and helping herself to their strawberries and pretzels. I guess my strawberries weren’t good enough. I somehow managed to eat a grilled chicken salad while trying to keep Penelope contained. I wasn’t very successful.

I thought for sure that when we got home afternoon nap would be a breeze. She slept long enough for me to put on my bathing suit and spray on some “dry” tanning oil before picking some weeds in my backyard.

The “dry” oil was anything but dry. I ran my hand over my shoulder to find that I was dripping in it. I was nice and shiny for my neighbors viewing pleasure… hey, that’s what they get if they are peeking into my back yard.

Note: bugs drown in sweat/suntan oil. It’s gross.

After I was satisfied with the amount of weeds I had plucked I sat down with a snack and a book. I found the Casual Vacancy from J.K. Rowling at the library in the “Lucky Day” section.

I got about two pages in before Penelope decided to crash my party. It was okay I couldn’t help but want to snuggle with that little munchkin who still smelled like strawberries… and oranges.

The outdoor fun didn’t stop after I picked Bridget up from school. We ate dinner outside before going for a stroll through the neighborhood. Once we got Penelope down for bed Bridget and I snuck outside and jumped on the trampoline together. She was wanting to show me her front flip technique.

I used to do front flips all of the time so I gave it a shot too. Guess what, I’ve still got it 😉