Bison Range Spring Picnic 2011

It seems to finally be Spring.

For the past few years, that has meant a few hours on a Sunday afternoon for a Spring picnic at the Bison Range to celebrate. Nothing too elaborate. Mostly, we just all show up here en mass. But we've been doing it for a few years now (2009 and 2010) so I think it's officially a tradition.

(Despite the grumpy face, really he's enjoying the celebrating too.)

This is my favorite part about living here. Not necessarily Spring in Montana or the Bison Range or picnics specifically (though all those things are splendid).

But what's really amazing is after a simple text to 3-4 people,  a hour or so later my kids and I are in the middle of this:

Beautiful surroundings. Dozens of people to enjoy it with.

Throw in some simple campfire food, fishing gear, baseball mitts and a bag of plastic kites, and it's even better.

I love that my kids are learning to love the close-at-hand. They've already figured out that re-exploring the places they've been before can be just as exciting as somewhere new. I love that they have all these cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents to make these explorations with.

Sometimes I think these simple traditions are the best. We have a few of them every season and it's the perfect way to celebrate both the passage of time and all the important things that don't change even as time passes.