Rope swing kind of day

After field day, a friend took us into the woods to show us where the much-raved-about rope swing is. We've gone walking in these woods before but have never found the rope swing...for whatever reason. I'm honestly not sure why. But here it is in all its glory:

Benjamin took the first several turns. Our mom-friend warned us that after the first handful of swings you're at greater risk of falling into the creek because your arms get tired. But the creek bed is nice soft sand so none of the kids seemed to mind this so much (especially not after field day, which got them all hot and sweaty).

At this point in the afternoon I only had Alexander, Benjamin, and Phoebe with me. Andrew had already picked Zoë up to take her to piano lessons and Miriam and Rachel don't typically come to co-op anyway. So that's who is in these pictures—my boys in green, a friend in blue, and Phoebe in yellow.

Here's Alexander taking a turn:

And here's Benjamin back on it:

Here's Alexander getting a little braver:

Phoebe wanted to try the swing as well, but she mostly just held onto the bottom knot and ran directly into the creek.

I know it's still technically only spring, but today felt like the perfect early-summer day. Too hot in the sun. Just right in the shade. The water still cool enough to be refreshing. 

Tomorrow the pool opens, so although it doesn't feel like summer could possibly be starting...it kind of is! At least for us. We're taking May off and June off and will probably dive back into school work in July. 

Here's a picture of a ladybug on a banana leaf in my front yard (for no related reason):