Duck Fun & Memories

From Duck Fun

From Duck Fun

It's summertime and time for picnics and ducks! Kyle enjoyed chasing squirrels up trees (by making volcano shoot out of his finger into the tree). Makenna wanted to eat the tortillas we fed the ducks!

I took the kids on Thursday to my old stompin' grounds, the San Gabriel Park, in Georgetown. I am so grateful now for that park. I had no idea growing up that I was so blessed to live in a town with a beautiful river and natural landscaping. We had our picnic close to the north end of the park and a flood of memories returned...bike rides to the park for summer swimming, swinging from the huge rope out into the middle of the river, algae (ick!), swinging on the swings or picnicing during our lunch break, elementary school field trips, 1986 Sesquentinial celebration (2 years after moving to GPatch), many 4th of July celebrations to follow, and the ducks (a few of their ancestors being kidnapped and released in the eagle gym for a high school pep rally against Taylor), and that's just tapping the surface of what that park truly holds for me.

It was surreal taking Kyle and Makenna there and knowing that it was a privilige to live in a town with old, beautiful trees, and a river that is so worth the swim when it's super-hot (or just cuz you have time on your lunch break, uh, during finals perhaps). It all made me grateful for my parents' decision to move our family to Georgetown in 1984, to provide a smaller-town lifestyle, away from the east austin area that was erroding.

Living in Hutto is humbling and wonderful. There are not many trees. This used to be just a railroad pass-through and acres of farmland. It definitely still is small-town...just would love to have the trees and the river I grew up with. We've been planting trees and know that the people who live in our home if we ever move out will be grateful that we took the time to plan for their future. I'm thankful that river is just twenty minutes up the road.