Good Memories

Today I decided to take the babies on an adventure. Partly because the weather was gorgeous - and how many more sunny days in the 50's will we have in December in New Enlgand?! Mostly because today was another difficult day (Allie woke up at 4 am and refused to go back to sleep, then she was tired and wanted to sleep when Ryan woke up - which put the babies on alternating nap schedules...disastrous for mommy productivity - and Ryan refused to sleep during an entire nap time). I didn't want another day that was characterized by being a "difficult" day, so I decided to do something to create a happy memory.

Not too far from our house is Beaver Brook Reservation - with a pond, ducks, geese, waterfalls, and a trail. Before the babies were born, Lucas and I loved going for walks here. In fact, when we were going through all of the fertility treatments (especially after finding out yet another one had failed), this was one of my favorite places to go. Being outdoors and near water has always had a way of restoring my soul. And waterfalls, no matter how small, have been especially dear to me and soothing. It is a place where I have always felt God's presence so closely, and where I used to dream of the day when I would walk along the water and through the woods with my baby.

Of course, then we had 2 babies...and since the trail isn't especially stroller friendly, and I can't take 2 babies in a backpack, I never took them. But today I decided to load up the jogging stroller and try this particular adventure.

Allie has one foot forward - ready to embark on our adventure!

In the past, upon arrival, the dozens of ducks at the pond have come running out of the water to meet us (in hopes of food). You can imagine my surprise when, instead of being met by ducks, dozens of geese started to move our way to check us out. I have a deep-seeded fear of geese (after being attacked by one when I was little), and the thought of bringing my babies near them almost made me turn around. But, I'm much larger and stronger, and felt that I could take on a goose if necessary...and the geese really were not interested in getting that close to us (not like the ducks always were). Plus, Ryan thought that the honking of the geese was hilarious! They would honk and he would giggle...I loved it!

We walked a short way down the trail (on the easiest part) to the first small waterfall. The babies didn't seem as thrilled as I was to be there, but they were intrigued by the water and the view. We turned around (since there was such a thick blanket of leaves that I couldn't find the trail there), and went back to watch the geese some more (Allie got a little more interested this time - almost cracking a smile! She gets so serious sometimes!). Then we tackled the trail from the other direction, and made it to the other bridge and waterfall! Have I mentioned how much I love waterfalls? We made our way around the trail the other way (the loop is less than a half mile), and then headed back home.

The twins enjoy the waterfall

Note: Not only did I have the brake on, but I had the wrist strap on, and I was holding onto the stroller. No worries, mom!

It wasn't a long adventure (40 minutes), but I really enjoyed being able to share this treasured spot with the babies. I loved that they enjoyed watching the geese. The few minutes we spent at each waterfall were literally enough to soothe my sleep-deprived, shriek-shredded soul. And the fresh air and sunshine did wonders for all of our moods! It was the perfect way to make this a joyfully memorable day.