My Buddy

As soon as we dropped The Bigs off at school on the first day back a couple weeks ago, I drove Luke straight to Canyon View Park in the Provo Canyon.  We parked there because there's a playground at the park.  I jogged/walked the Provo River Parkway Trail and pushed Luke in a jogging stroller I borrowed from a friend.  When we came back to the park, Luke played on the playground while I stretched, then I played with him for a bit before we left.  It worked out very well and he and I have done the exact same thing twice more.  Maybe I've found an exercise routine that works?  At least until the cold hits...

When I found some stale bread I'd forgotten about, we had another adventure: feeding the ducks at a nearby park.  We enjoyed seeing all the different kinds of ducks, played some hide and seek, and walking around to see the flowers in the garden.

I planned to get an oil change at a garage near a Pet Store so that Luke and I could see all the animals while we waited, but we were too early and the Pet Store didn't open for an hour.  So we just walked around, and had the good luck to stumble upon this enormous (3"or 4" I'd say) white preying mantis window shopping at Sally Beauty Supply.  We watched it for a while, then I convinced Luke to let me use his hoodie to transport the bug to an area in the parking lot with some trees and bushes and grass.  It took me a few attempts to collect the preying mantis without screaming and jumping, but I finally managed and dropped it off in a place where it might be a little happier.

During a trip to the library I discovered which of us has more refined taste.

We've also gone for a ride on the bike, made muffins, played with toys, spent time with friends, and run lots of errands.  Can you tell that I'm enjoying getting all of this extra one-on-one time with Luke?