a fine evening

i wish i would have had my camera earlier tonight. it is a beautiful evening--sunny and breezy and much cooler than it has been. i put ada in her sling and we all went for a walk. we took a newly built road in our neighborhood that turns into a dirt road and ends in a field surrounded by trees. it was a good feeling, just all of us being together as a family. cambel was lagging behind collecting rocks and then throwing them off to the side. we were trying to encourage him to keep up with us, but he just couldn't resist picking up and throwing all the rocks. every couple  of minutes, kevin would tell him to run, and he would throw another rock and then take off, until he was closer, or saw another tempting rock. the combination of the perfect weather, being together, and watching our little cambel--who is so quickly becoming not so little--made me wish i had the camera to somehow capture it all. what i would have tried to take a picture of would have been cambel throwing rocks and running "so fast" in his red basketball shorts that he has been wearing nearly every day and his worn out flip flops that have have left their mark in white stripes across his suntanned feet, and his new "basketball shirt" that his dad bought him on their recent walmart excursion. i would have maybe videotaped too to capture his determined stride when he runs and his authoritative voice that he uses when he wants to impart some important information (like how fast he is running or where we should walk next). but i didn't have any camera to capture all of this, and i am not sure that i  could have anyway. these moments come frequently i suppose and  maybe i take them for granted. but he won't always be like he is today, and although i am anxious for him to grow and develop, i can't help feeling at times, like tonight, that i wish i could just stop him and keep him forever where he is. 

when we got back to the house i had him get on his bike and pose for pictures over and over again for me. then we took pictures with ada too. they never turn out just the way i want them too, but it is at least an attempt to keep these memories preserved. 

that is probably enough of the sappy stuff for now.