Sunday Funday (with a not so fun part)

I had been so excited about the weather today when looking at the forecast this week. I didn't have anything planned, but I knew I for sure wanted to go on a bike ride. I was pretty bummed this morning when I realized Casey needed his truck to haul lumber to fix his mom's fence. We live on a back road so we load the bikes in the truck and either go in town or to a trail. It seemed cool outside this morning (the brief times I opened the door) so we just hung around the house this morning until I decided what we were going to do. I am a planner-to a T so it's very unusual for me to not have my day planned out (unless we're just staying home). Brennan had stayed at Caiden's house so I had him come home at 10 this morning and offered that Caiden could come play. They both played inside and outside and Brooks took a great nap since he was up later than usual last night and up early this morning. Caiden had to be home by 1 for a hockey game so I decided that was a good time to head out. My mom is a realtor and was having an open house so we went there first. This is the only picture I took, but she was being silly and Brooks was cracking up. Love his little belly laugh:)

Then we headed to my mother in laws where Casey was working on her fence. She has creeping charlie terrible in her backyard. Brennan and I went to work pulling it, but if you've ever pulled those weeds-it's never ending. At least in her yard because she has so much. By the time we were finished, we had filled an entire yard waste bag and it didn't look like we had done anything. 

These 2 had fun playing with the bag before we filled it:)

There is a park near her house and we haven't been there in forever so we decided to head there.  It was the cutest thing, as soon as we got there this little boy, about 2 years old just came up and gave Brooks the biggest hug. I wish I could have gotten a picture of it!

He enjoyed swinging:)

Casey's mom got a loaf of bread to feed the ducks. I know you're really not supposed to feed them bread, but we were in a pinch.

Brennan had his eye on the geese afraid they were going to come after him. 

Haha

Brooks was a little leery, too but he warmed up.

They've added a lot of fun things since the last time were here. 

They had this big slide. Brooks was kind of scared going down, but he signed more every time so he must have liked it. We went down several times. 

Finally, the last couple of times he smiled. 

Then he wanted to climb back up to go down like he does with every slide. 

Brennan wouldn't go down at first, but when he finally did he loved it!

Sweet big bro

Mamaw even went down:)

I noticed that they have an Angel of Hope, I had never noticed it before. I am, of course, drawn to them. We don't have a brick for Reese and Scotlyn anywhere, but my friends have them at an Angel of Hope in St Charles. Most of my baby loss friends live out that way and it's far for us so we never got one there. I spent some time looking at all of the memorial bricks and plaques. One was an infant born in 1922. There was no date. I assume that it was a time when mother's didn't even get to see their babies after they died. It was so taboo back then. It makes me so sad, but also grateful how times have changed and how there is now professional photography being done and specially trained nurses that help grieving parents through this time. I am going to look into getting something for Reese and Scotlyn here. 

I found the plaque in memory of someone I recognized. A teenager who sadly died in a car accident just months after Reese and Scotlyn died. He was the boyfriend of a family member. 

We continued on throughout the park. We walked all the way around the lake and over the bridge along the pathway. 

Brooks insisted on walking the whole time. Up the hills, down the hills. He's a typical toddler:)

We fed more ducks on the other side of the lake. 

When we were finished I snapped a picture of Mamaw and her boys. 

Now comes the not so fun part. We get in the car to leave and I pull out my phone to charge it and I check my pocket where I had put my wedding ring, it was gone. I panicked instantly. I checked all of my pockets, I checked all around the seat since I had just pulled my phone out. My ring had been in the same pocket as my phone, which now I realize was stupid. It was gone. I immediately called Casey to come up there and his mom had already left, but she was closer so I called her to come back as well. My ring is too big, it has been for a while. I lost weight before Brooks and then I lost even more after. I need to get it sized, but our jeweler retired and I need to find a new one. I would like to lose more weight and I don't want to keep getting it resized. Just something I've been putting off. Sometimes it fits good enough to stay on, but when I'm eating clean and losing, which I have been, it slides off. Very easily. I had taken it off when we were pulling weeds because I didn't want to lose it in the yard or yard waste bag. Thinking about that now, it would have been much better than losing it in 

an entire park! 

 I took the kids and backtracked our steps. The whole time I'm thinking, there's no way I'm going to find this. Is it crazy that I am going to search an entire park for a ring when what are the chances I will find it. We started in the grass by the playground because that was the last place I had been when I took my phone out, I remembered trying to see what time it was. I kept thinking of the times I took my phone out along the way, when the last time was that I checked my pocket for the ring. I did keep checking to make sure it was there, although it had been a while since my last check. Brennan and I looked in the grass along the way as we walked toward the walking path. We started back on the walking path where we had ended. It's a big park and there were tons of people. I kept watching people walk by and thinking, what if someone picked it up, would they see me searching and seek me out. Would I post an ad in the paper or on facebook.  Then would people go looking for it and keep it if they found it. Did someone already find it and they're keeping it. It's insured so I started thinking about having to get a new ring. It's custom made and our jeweler retired. Would I call her and beg her to make me a replica. Seriously, severe anxiety. We walked all the way up the path back to this play area where Brooks was climbing. I was really feeling hopeless. I was sure it wasn't long before that I had checked to see if the ring was still in my pocket. I walked to the next area we had been before that. 

I had taken my phone out to take a picture of the plaque of the boy I recognized and sent it to his girlfriend to confirm it was him. I looked down in front of the wall and right there in the middle laid my ring. I couldn't believe it, I was so incredibly relieved. Brennan kept telling me "You are so lucky mom." Yes indeed, it was really a true miracle. 

Look at all these angels who were watching over me♥