Paleontologists in Winter

Today was an unusually warm day, so we loaded Cora up un the stroller and hit the sidewalk. Normally walks come with a lot of griping and groaning, but today I think we were all thankful for the fresh air and exercise. The boys decided they were explorers on a new trail. They begged me to take routes we don't usually take so they could explore. Not long into the walk, they found some sticks and held them up to show me. "Oh! Dinosaur bones!" The spark was lit and they became paleontologists in search of the next big find. They held up big sticks and gave their best efforts at pronouncing the names of creatures they knew. "Look, Mom! A brachiosaurus thigh!"and. "Look, this tiny one is from a little pteranadon!" A seed pod became a dinosaur tongue. They piled all their finds into the stroller and we walked and walked. Finally we made our way home. They poured out their treasures onto the table and dug in the toy box for magnifying glasses, binoculars ("microscope") and looking glasses. They studied each piece, examining the "cells" and contents, talking about the dinosaurs they must have belonged to. It was exactly what a warm mid-winter afternoon should be and more...