I am so thankful for the recent warm weather we’ve been having in Alabama. We had an unusually cold winter and I hated being cooped up inside and so did Annelise. For the first time this spring, it was finally a warm enough day to go to the park. So, my sister Kenisha and I agreed to take our kids to the park. Kenisha has a 1 year old little boy named Brodie and he’s the cutest little monkey ever (speaking as a completely unbiased auntie, of course).

As we pulled into the parking lot of the park, I noticed that the ice cream truck was over by the lake. I knew Lisee would be so excited because she had just watched an episode of Dora about an ice cream truck. This was the first time Lisee had ever seen one before and of course, when she heard the carousel music and I told her what it was, her bright blue eyes lit up! Kenisha and Lisee headed toward the lake while I took Brodie inside the playground. She chose a chocolate and vanilla Dora the Explorer ice cream bar and my sister got a sno-cone.

Now, I am a mom that hates messes and I know it is almost an impossible feat for a 2 year old to eat chocolate ice cream without a mess, but I just sat back and didn’t worry about the mess on this occasion, her first treat from the ice cream truck. It goes without saying that when she was finished, ice cream was dripping from her chin, hand and down her shirt turning her into a sticky little lady. “Baby wipes!” I said to my sister. She reached into the diaper bag and realized we had left them at home. So, I then headed with Lisee to the bathroom, got some paper towels and wet them and cleaned her up.

We returned to the playground area and I told Lisee to go ahead and play. She then spotted Aunt Nini’s sno-cone and she grabbed her belly and claimed that she was ’sooooo’ hungry. Kenisha gave her the sno-cone and she was delighted. After her brainfreeze from eating it too fast, she shared some with Brodie and threw it into the garbage can nearby. She spent the rest of the day running around wildly from the swings to the giant racecar to the slides and back and forth. I’m sure that the energy burst was thanks to a combination of two things: the sugar rush from the ice cream treats and months of being stuck inside a house due to a cold winter.

We shared a lovely day together at the park, that is, of course, until it was time to leave. Lisee protested because she didn’t want to go and I really didn’t either. I was enjoying the weather and I was also enjoying watching the kids play but it was getting close to 5 pm. So, we had to get to the kids home for dinner, bath, and bedtime.

The little things, like selecting our favorite treat from the ice cream truck, are what makes up many of our childhood memories. There is nothing children appreciate more than spending precious moments with Mommy.