playgrounds and daily walks

These past several weeks I've been successfully taking the girls on longer daily walks.

During winter and the beginning of spring we didn't take daily walks because I'm not Norwegian enough - that is to say I believe there is such a thing as sucky weather, and my threshold is kind of low. And then there was the whole 'too tired to walk home - screaming on the roadside' that made trips out, or I should say the way home, not too enjoyable.

But Leona is Four years old now. She is big (her own conclusion), and so as mentioned before, she is suddenly totally ok on the whole outing - even when I know she is pretty tired (I'm exhausted), she doesn't complain. She also knows there's no spot for her on the stroller, so there aren't really any other options.

For a few weeks, when the weather was not 'pouring rain', the walks were done with her on her bike, meaning she wouldn't get as tired, but these past days she's chosen to walk, and still no complaints or breakdowns even when our excursion is for a total of 3-4 hours.

So where do we actually go for so long, you ask? Well, we either go to the hotel or to the playground at the school, and then also visit the kindergarten, a place she has suddenly started to feel much more at ease at, running around, getting toys to use in the sandbox, and sometimes even playing with one of the girls her age.

Personally I love the hotel, because there're rocks to throw in the water, pebbles/sand to play with, seaweed to toss around and investigate, the swing and climbing area of the swing set, really styling bench and table, and a super comfortable view...and we have it all to ourselves (peaceful for me).

[The beach, swing set, and bench/table we favor (where the stroller is parked and E is headed]

[the view - and to the left you see some rocks that are almost perfect for climbing...

just some places too steep on the water-side for my sense of safety]

[the girls like to push the limit of what is acceptable in terms of the climbing - this is within the limit]

[and who can blame them...that view is awesome]

 

I also love being at the kindergarten before 1pm, as the five year olds are at the school until then, so it's a lot more peaceful.

This, and because Eliana's naps have started to be taken later in the day (no longer starting at 9:30-10:00 as they have this past year or so, but more like between 11am and 1pm, depending on a myriad of influences), is why we now leave the house around 10am, rather than wait until Eliana's done napping. Eliana then naps either during the excursion or about when we get home.

Peaceful. Seems to be a trend I require.



.