Family fun in autumn

I love photos. It's no secret; I'll take as many as I can, but the sad fact is that I have no skills in that particular department. I was keeping my fingers crossed that I'd manage a good one today as the skies were so blue, but alas, I have little to show for it. Apart from some happy faces. 

Fleeting the event may have been, but we did all get out today for a walk in the chilly sun and bright blue skies. I still can't quite believe it; this is such a rare occurrence, especially for the whole family to be able to go at the same time, and for there to be smiles.

I mean, let's be honest, it wasn't without its usual challenges; grumps from the almost-tween and definite direction from youngest leading the way, but whatevs. We made it! Across the road to some open green space, for a spin on a swing and several minutes of collecting a leaf pile to jump into.

Sasha has always loved the seasons and outdoors; autumn is a winner if the sun is shining and the leaves have dropped. Largely because she has happy memories of years passed when she was younger and we gathered leaves for her and her sister to jump into. Good old clean family fun is something she thrives on - as long as there are nobody's rules but her own. So board games are out. 

Today we did well to sustain a quick half an hour out of the house. Success was partly due to a lovely neighbour who took Sasha under her wing for a dog walk while I was at the dentist earlier this week, meaning that Sasha was keen to show us where they went (although she did keep asking for the other mum and dog to come too - I had to gently point out that it was a weekend and she had her own family to spend time with!). 

There were jokes told, and smiles and laughter, and swinging, and leaf gathering. Typical, 'normal' kind of family fun. With the usual dose of PDA. 

Eldest girl decided to use some of her own strategies to persuade Sasha to look at the camera and smile. That means she offered her younger sister the chance to play Roblox together if Sasha posed for a photo. There's not many incentives that have any effect on Sasha, but being able to play a game she loves with her older sister is definitely one of them. The trouble was, that as soon as this option had been offered, that was pretty much all that Sasha could think about. We had to temper that with the fact that eldest daughter was going to be out all afternoon at a show rehearsal, so Sasha would have to wait for the fun. That didn't please her much though, and resulted in some stomping off home ahead of us all by Sasha.

Luckily in a way, that meant we did actually get home in time for the girls to have 15 minutes playing together after all, and that set Sasha up for the afternoon. 

The joy she gets from playing with her older sister, who she knows 'gets' her, is immense, and lovely to see, but brings its own challenges at the same time, for us and for older sister. 

We'll take that though, for the chance of happy times and leaf piles.

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