Visible Decisions

Today we went to Elephant Rocks with family. It was a great (if sweaty) day. We all loved climbing and exploring. Thanks to the ones with us, Lydia got to climb fast and high and I only yelled "stay close to Uncle Isaac or Daddy!" like 72 times.

It was nice to get out and you know I love capturing the moments. A lot of good pictures came out of this day... but here is one of my favorites.

I love what you can see at first glance: my brother-in-law exploring with my 3 favorite girls. But I love the story you can't quite see even more.

You can't see that it was the end of our exploring at Elephant Rocks and that, therefore, our determined explores were getting tired.

You can't see that the water was close behind me (and the camera), or that Josh and I had strategically placed ourselves between the girls and said water.

You can't see that Raina was *supposed* to be standing by Lydia and Emma ... And even HAD been standing there until she decided to bolt away. You can't see that we had coralled her back, but only that far ... Because right then she was to stubborn to go be in the picture.

You can't see that her ornery little brain had clearly figured out that my hands were busy taking the picture of Emma and Lydia and therefore may possibly be slower to grab her.

But, by the look on her face you CAN see that she had figured out Uncle Josh was the biggest threat to her "escape attempt" to get closer to the water. 

And, you can see Josh's smile ... So at first glance, you might have missed the stare down. But look again ... It's there. 

Here is Raina and Uncle Josh having a moment as Raina decided if she would listen to his word of caution to stay close. 

I don't often get to capture the moments where my kiddos are thinking through important decisions (largely because I'm usually busy navigating those moments with them). "Will I listen and obey this person?" is a big decision for a 2 year old - and here - by chance - I got to capture that decision being made.

I love the fact that I could trust Josh to nab her if needed let me pause long enough to take this adorable picture of Lydia and Emma.

And the fact that Raina trusted Uncle Josh enough to decide to listen to him and not bolt again? That I love even more. 

I'm so thankful for the other people in my girls lives that they know they should listen to. The people that help me let the girls experience adventure all while being kept safe. I'm thankful for people who make my girls listen and help teach them the right way to do things. 

And, the fact that they can do it all with a smile even through the "stare downs" and catch them if they had chosen wrong and not listened? That's just bonus awesome.