Girls Night Out

Just Mackenzie and Me! I have spent a lot of one-on-one time with Josiah lately. I have time with just Josiah in the mornings as Mackenzie does not wake up as early as he does, and time with Josiah while Mackenzie's in "school" from 9-2 twice a week. I am enjoying my one-on-one time with Josiah, but was missing my time with Mackenzie. So. To solve this dilemma, David and Josiah had a "boy's night out" and spent some time at Sprout and Chuck E. Cheese, while Mackenzie and I had a "girl's night out," just the two of us. We opted for an adventure together, to places we've never been... We started at the Knoxville Museum of Art (free admission!) and explored the children's area and the gardens. Let's just say that I'm VERY glad it was free-Ha. If you're looking for a garden area, UT Gardens has this beat by a long shot; if you're looking for interactive children's areas, well, just about anywhere has this beat! :) That said, we enjoyed seeing it for about 15 minutes max, then left for a new adventure! We ended up across the street from the Art Museum at a park called Fort Kid. Excellent place! We both had fun climbing around a fortress-like park. Notice the Sun Sphere in the background--cool place!
I loved the sunlight on Mackenzie's hair!
Couldn't decide if I liked it better in color or black and white.
Then we got hungry...next stop Market Square! I had actually never been there before, so we enjoyed it. Mackenzie was thrilled with getting to pick the restaurant; she chose one with outdoor seating and umbrellas overhead! Then she insisted on a table for two (rather than four), since it was girl's night out. After our lo mien noodles and fried rice dishes, we began our journey back to the car.
Mackenzie was delighted with getting to play in the splash pad/ fountain area at Market Square. She did a great job of staying dry, which was nice as I had no extra clothes in tow.

By the time we all four met up at home, we were tired but had made some fun memories to treasure.

(Random Side Note: As Mackenzie and I began our first journey from the car to the museum, she held my hand and asked me to skip down the sidewalk with her. I know we were a sight to see! I had to look funny skipping down the sidewalk. But as I did so, tears came to my eyes as the precious time with my children seems so very fleeting. They are growing and changing every day, which is a blessing, but makes me sad, too! I just want to treasure every "skipping down the sidewalk" moment that we are granted.)