I had decided that the day was too beautiful to stay inside. After school I said we were going out.
A few of them weren’t too keen on the idea. They just wanted to stay inside.
Exhibit A: The boy who said "I'm just going to stay in the car, and not come out!"
Good thing I don’t always listen to my children 
We went to the river at Willowbank Park in Tawa. We didn’t even make it around to the playground area. We found a good spot where there were walking stones across the river, and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon. It was a blast!
But the sulky faces and whiney comments at the beginning, I could have done without, thank you very much. So that is exactly what they were told on the way home! haha!
While we were at the river I was thinking about how our outings have evolved over the years….
I remember nervously stepping out with four children, aged 0,2,4 and 6.
I would not attempt places with water, unless I had another adult on hand.
I would choose parks where the play equipment wouldn’t be too challenging Otherwise I would end up with different children calling out my name for help all at the same time!
The parks had to be relatively contained, and where the play equipment were close together so I could keep an eye on all the kids easily.
I also remember back to when I was a home body. Quite content hanging at home, making our own fun. I had no clue what was out there, but I didn’t really care, because I had my wee ones with me and we created our own fun memories.
When we went to the zoo last week, I saw the sheltered picnic spot that brought back memories of my first big outing with our baby and toddler…all by myself!
When it came time to feeding the baby, we parked ourselves on a sheltered picnic table. I remember nervously watching my toddler eating her snack, hoping I would finish breastfeeding BEFORE my 2 year old finished her food and decided it would be really fun to go exploring without mummy!
That was then…
This is now…
I totally relate to this post – my kids were spaced almost the same & if I could avoid taking all four of them somewhere by myself, I did. My youngest are only 13 months apart and there were places I just could not go. Things are getting easier now though! Still don’t know if I’m ready for places with water by myself yet 
