Today is an amazing November day for South Dakota - sunny and 60 plus degrees. After lunch we went to the park by the Missouri River, partly to see all of the holiday decorations that have been put up (I will refrain from ranting about how early holiday decorations now pop up) and partly to take advantage of this mild day before the cold sets in for good. It started out great, and here are pictures to prove it:





Our outing did not end very well, though, and here's what I could have done differently. This park is huge, one where I can't necessarily see the kids if we're on opposite ends. It's also right along the Missouri River, and water is way too attractive to stay away from, especially for Ella. After Ella had her fill of the playground equipment, she started wandering toward the water, leaving Accalia, Cole and our pile of stuff (jackets, diaper bag, etc.) unattended by me. It was okay at first because I could still vaguely see the kids at the playground, and the park was pretty much deserted save for a few couples walking along the paths. We spent some time on the dock, looking at the green, green water and at the Meridian Bridge and construction of the Discovery Bridge. Then Ella started wandering even farther away down toward the shore. At that point, we would have been too far away to see the other kids or our things. Ella resisted every attempt of mine to turn back, and finally I ended up carrying a crying little girl for quite a distance back to the playground and almost immediately back to our van.

So, with a little more planning on my part, the trip could have been so much happier for all of us, and everyone's needs for exploring and water could have been met. Actually, the most helpful thing would have been to have another adult along so they could have stayed at the playground with Accalia and Cole and I could have wandered around with Ella. However, as the lone adult, I should have done the extremely simple task of taking along my backpack style diaper bag, which is roomy enough to stuff everything inside and handy enough to carry on my back and still keep up with Ella. Then I would have had no worries about where our things were, and I should have just expected that Ella wandering away from the playground meant she would be going far and not just heading back to her siblings. I'm sure Accalia and Cole would have been eager to get down to the water, too. I've just gotten too far out of the routine of going to the parks that I just didn't think of what a wanderer Ella is becoming as she gets older.

Next time, right? It probably didn't help that Ella was pretty much exhausted and fell asleep for a nap soon after we returned home. There are some days where she's not ready to nap until 4 or 5 p.m. and others where she barely makes it past noon.