Today, my son and I (with a baby backpack, of course) visited a local Orlando animal park. I created engaging activities focused on learning the differences and similarities between certain reptiles, including labeling exercises and coloring sheets. Amazing, right? He said his hand hurt, so he wouldn’t be coloring anything in after the Venn diagram writing. #Noted We met up with an amazing group of fellow homeschoolers, took pictures, explored the park, and fed the animals.

One particularly interesting moment for me was climbing the lookout tower and getting a mild case of vertigo. #NotAsFun We viewed baby birds in their nests and learned that if they fell out, they became GATOR SNACKS! Let the tears flow.

We rode a train, bought delicious baked potatoes and lemonade, AND played in a splash pad. (If you’ve been here and can guess where we were, drop a comment with your favorite memory made there!)

This is all to say—after three hours of good ol’ fun and a laundry list of amazing experiences—we were walking back to the van when I asked my son what his favorite part of the day was. (Mind you, this was after he asked me first, and I said “potato!” Don’t judge—I hadn’t eaten all day! 🤣)

His answer? Spending the day with ME! Wow. Blown away. All that time planning and creating moments, and his favorite part of the day was simply the company he had. Smart boy. What can I say?

Honestly, that probably pulled at my heartstrings more than learning that baby birds falling out of their nests become gator snacks.

Here it is, folks—the golden two cents of knowledge for the day. Whatever is keeping you from making memories—whether it’s fear, unpreparedness, or simply not knowing where to start—just remember that children will always have the fondest memories simply spending time outside in this beautiful world that YHWH made.

So, take the first step—fill the water bottle, wear some shoes if that’s your thing (it’s not my two-year-old’s, so don’t say anything if you see her out and about shoeless—she’s her own kind of lady), and hit a trail, park, or conservation area today!

— side note — I know I took like a week hiatus from writing . That’s what five kids , a business , a house , pets etc etc can do to any one of us. That thing you’ve been putting off? Do it . Do it if you haven’t done it in a week. If you planned to do it last fall . Whatever the reason is that you haven’t been able to until now. Do it anyway.