Kids and crocs!

Hmmm... Time to plan the day's activities. Let's see now. It's hot. The sun is beating down. Humidity is about 90%. It's just miserable out there. What to do? How about the Journeys of the Heart Annual Picnic!

In fairness, one can never really plan in advance for outdoor events and not expect weather to be a factor. The good news is that there was a breeze blowing and there were even a few trees to provide much needed shade. And it's really about the kids, right? It's certainly worth some sweat, sand, and sunscreen.

For the 2nd year in a row, the Journey's picnic was held at Wheaton's Northside Park. This annual event is a wonderful opportunity to meet up with other families who have chosen to adopt through the various programs offered at the agency. It's a great time to meet up with old friends, meet new ones, and just stare in amazement at how much our babies have grown.

Aside from playing, running, feasting, and sweating, this year's event also brought in a traveling reptile show. And it was a huge hit with the kids -- and adults! Chris Boerema's Traveling World of Reptiles spent part of the afternoon with us and just wowed the kids with creatures of all sizes and textures. Some friendly. Some not so much. All handled in a professional and educational way. The kids got to pet some of them. Some kids were selected to hold turtles, place a frog on a nose, or a tarantula on a head. Good fun for all!

After more sweating and playing, we ducked out of there around 4:00 or so. About 10-15 minutes later, the thunderstorms moved through and concluded the days events. We were all pretty wiped out after a day in the sun. But it was just a great day to bring so many people back together again.