Missing It

Just the other day I ran through the drive through at the trusty McDonald's and saw 2 moms taking their little people in for what I assume was lunch and recreation in the playzone.  I haven't done that in ages, for my older 2 are really too big for that now (sort of) and my youngest one is always doing what the older 2 do, so there you have it.
And I realized I miss that.
Either hot summer days or frosty winter days, where we would meet friends and kill 2 hours over chicken nuggets and ice cream.  And the mommies talked and the kids ran wild and I never thought much about it.  It was just something we did to "survive" sometimes when the togetherness became too much in our own homes.
Everything seemed so much easier then-the hardest things were potty training, learning to tie shoes, blowing a nose effectively.  Now we have bullies and The Jones and homework to keep up with.

Now if we go to Chik-Fi-La, my older 2 will take Walks With Purpose in the playzone but they aren't really playing themselves.  They are monitoring the situation for WWP.  This stop for them, is usually one on the way to a friends house or an activity.
My kids are still young and already I am missing things like McDonald's playzones.
Jeezus, Mary and Joseph...what will it be like when they are teens?

Anyway.
It's January.  It's supposed to be cold.  My kids have been praying for snow, like we had last Christmas.
Instead, yesterday was about 70 and sunny.  We grilled burgers and dogs, for the Love of Pete.
And it was great.

GoGo, Warrior Princess

Epic Battle.

The Hunt.

Pondering in his newly made Fort.

Going Down.

Zip lining across the backyard.

My kids were filthy yesterday evening, having played outside for the  better part of 7 hours.  They caught lizards, played in a fort, had a Nerf battle, ziplined, chased a puppy and hung with friends. 

Looking forward to many, many more days like these.