I had the privilege of chaperoning a first grade field trip to the Loveland living aquarium😜,Which in my expert opinion was the best I have ever seen. We saw seahorses, otters, an anaconda, and some poisonous tree frogs. Did you know those things can kill up to ten men! and they’re about as long as your finger, crazy! (so Kate and I had to play dead in front of one because even though they’re bright and cute, those suckers are deadly !)

…But my favorite exhibit was Kate.

I loved getting to observe her while keeping an eye on the rowdy boys in our group. Kate was the only girl and self designated guide. She is a leader, and those boys sure followed her. At six years old she has a knack for wrapping boys around her finger! she is spunky and smart and full of sweetness. I watched as showed kindness to a girl who has been bullying her at school.She is a natural nurturer. She helped one of the boys across the bridge who was scared, patiently encouraging him and reaching out her hand at the end to help him. when he walked away from the bridge that hung high in the air on the second story, he told me “that was the scariest thing I have ever done!” She made sure everyone stayed together and no one got lost. Her enthusiasm for the animals was contagious. Its pretty much impossible to be unhappy or melancholy around her. Even though she’s always wanted to ride in a school bus, she decided to ride with me because she didn’t want me to be alone! she has always been my little sidekick, never wanting me to go anywhere without her, and I kinda like it. a lot! I told her she could ride the bus and see what it was like. I explained that I would be just fine and I didn’t want her to miss out, but she insisted saying she would rather be with me. im glad she came because listening to her belt out “roar” by katy Perry  5 times in arrow was one of my highlights from the trip! I am blown away by how many creatures there are in this world and how diverse they are, yet I feel deeply humbled to have given birth to such a precious and heavenly being as Kate.

I love one- on -one time because I see the fruits of it after deliberately making these kind of dates happen over the past 14 years. I decided to take advantage of our time alone and took Kate to a pumpkin patch on the way home. we were there for over 2 hours! and I loved it every bit as much as she did. we got lost and kinda scared in a corn maze, went on a tractor ride, played in a bed of corn,and jumped off hay bales. On the way home Kate said “this was pretty much the best day of my life!” and that was worth more than a million dollars to me.

I love you baby girl! Being your mama is the greatest adventure of my life!