All our sweetest hours fly fastest  –  Virgil

10 days have passed by in a jiffy and we are done with Spring break and my son is back at school. 10 days of sheer fun, good times, meeting friends and making memories.

After a long winter, a warm sunny spring day was much welcomed by us all.  We decided to get together with some friends that Arnav does not get to meet as often now.  They have been friends since preschool, but now they go to different elementary schools.  So, we set out with our picnic baskets to explore Great Falls.

We spent the morning watching the beautiful falls.  I could stand there for hours and listen to the sound of the cascading water.  Arnav could see a couple of hawks circling above.  Having just read a book on hawks, he was mighty thrilled to see them.

Pretty soon the kids decide they had had enough of the falls and wanted to climb on the rocks.  Up and down they went a few times and then it was time to move ahead and find the next thing to explore.

They found a tree stump with a big hollow in it.  It was fun to watch them engage with each other and play around that hollow in the stump.

We decided to go on a short hike to see another part of the falls.  They saw the open trails and off they went.  The hike was more like a running competition for the kids.

On the way, we had a pit stop at a bridge to watch the stream and check to see if they could find any tadpoles, frogs or fish in it.

Our next pit stop was at another area of the falls with calmer waters. The kids engaged in some more play time here, silly conversations, laughter and just being goofy.

Off they went again towards the dam.  They marveled at the beauty of the dam for a couple of seconds and then they started looking for clam shells and magic stones.  We spent a good amount of time here before heading back.

On the way back to the picnic tables, we saw some geese flying by, a few of them were in the water. We also saw a couple of Fish Crows swoop down in to the water and picking up their meal and some Hooded Merganser ducks.  While we were watching the birds, one of the bird watchers who was close by, offered to let us view the Bald Eagle nests on the other side of the falls.  We saw one of the Eagles sitting in the nest.

Post lunch, they played several games.  Soccer was a favorite.

It was just a couple days before Easter and the day would not be complete without an egg hunt.  The kids had no idea they were going on an egg hunt and were thrilled.

Here they are: sharing a few laughs and enjoying their loot.  A day well spent indeed!