Mother's Day- 2 weeks later

The last several years, we have been traveling on Mother's Day. This year, we were home and we weren't sure what we should do to make the day special. I didn't want to go to a restaurant after church with 5 hungry children, only to wait 60 minutes for a table. On the flip side of that, I didn't want to spend my afternoon in the kitchen. I just wanted to do something fun and simple.

So, we decided we would eat an easy fast food lunch and then spend the afternoon at the Sarah P. Duke gardens in Durham. One of our friends from the Botany co-op we did this spring recommended it, and it seemed like the makings for a perfect afternoon.

How I have lived in the Triangle this long and not been to this beautiful place, I don't know. It was so pretty and though we stayed at least 2 hours, we didn't begin to see all of it. The kids had a great time exploring paths, watching baby ducks, and jumping various streams and rocks. The weather cooperated and we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon enjoying God's creation.

My favorite flowers from the day. I think they may be a type of onion?

Lily in the bamboo

Sisters!

Brothers!

The whole crew

Wall walking, notice Abe is keeping up with the big kids.

Another mama and her babies

I think they would have been content to watch those baby ducks all afternoon.

Grammy resisted the urge to dip her toes in. Notice all the other toes are bare.

Ready to head out of the gardens and on to the ice cream shop.

What kid doesn't love water features?

One tired toddler!