365 Project - Day 102 - Backyard Adventures

As a child, I loved to be outside. It was damn near painful to be cooped up indoors for any extended period of time. During the summers, I begged our babysitters to let me go spend the day at the pool. During the winters, I bundled up and braved the cold to build snow forts and go sledding. It really didn't matter what it was--fishing, horseback riding, rollerblading or even just digging holes in the backyard--as long as I was out in the fresh air and sunshine, I was perfectly happy.

My daughter seems to have inherited my love of the great outdoors, and today her Daddy took her out shopping to buy a new ball and a some toys to play with in the sand when we go to the park. As you can see, the big blue ball they picked out was a big hit...

Then, Cadence got the thrill of her life when she finally got to see the neighbor dog, Thunder, up close. For months, she has been yelling "Dun-duh! Dun-duh!" and pounding on the sliding glass door every time she spies him sunning himself in our neighbor's yard. Today, she could hardly contain herself when he came outside and sidled up to the fence to meet her in person.

Undeterred by the all the excitment, Electra kept doing what Electra does best...tracking anything and everything that visited the yard and left any sort of scent.

Next, Cadence wandered over to give the freshly blooming flowers an inquisitive squeeze before heading off to do some more exploring.

Finally, as the sun began to sink and her belly began to growl, Cadence decided she'd done enough playing and headed for the house. These days, she makes pretty short work of the stairs, and has even figured out how to work her way back down from the top. And the best part about that is, it helps tire our little Energizer Bunny out!

Today's 365 Project entry is dedicated to the first of many backyard adventures.