happy earth day.

it was beautiful outside today. we had to wait until after lunch to go out because of two nappers and lunch, but once we went out it was nice. i didn't have time to 'do' anything to celebrate earth day other than let all the kids play with the earth-sand and water and dirt and grass. it was wonderful to feel the sun on our faces and get all dirty. they all had baths when we went inside, which opened up the after-dinner hour for a walk.
i've been bummed all winter thinking about how i'll miss my after dinner walks of last summer. most of the time it was to get some time where i wasn't holding or wearing a crabby baby. i would start out hot, stressed, almost manic and by the end of the workout (double strollers kick my butt every time!) i'd be hot, elated that i exercised, feeling more centered and ready to tackle bedtime. this year we have much earlier bedtime so it will be tricky. i'd be willing to make dinner at 430 to get our power walks in. they are so so important to me because that is my wind-down time with the boys.
anyhoo, all day i could hear the heartbreaking sounds of chainsaws in two different directions. how awful to cut down two beautiful trees on earth day! i decided to take the boys to see each tree to learn about the rings and smell the scent of fresh cut wood. we felt the dampness of the wood and studied the rings. we held a chunk of wood and talked about how it's different than a stick, even though they both are part of the tree. august said, "poor tree. bye bye old tree!" as we walked away from the one on california. boo.
my heart is heavy tonight. i don't want to elaborate here, but my earth day is not ending on a positive note. i thought it was significant enough to mention.