It is a bit of an understatement that the summer air was warm and heavy. Clothes stuck to skin, faces flushed, curly hair became adorably spiral, and we gleefully rejoiced that our schedules allowed us to choose the less stifling of two evening family photograph options.  Luckily, the thickness of the air didn’t deter two young boys from having fun and exploring this wonderful gem of a space on Madison’s near west side.

The clouds closed in the thick air, but it was a gift to keep the blazing sun off the playground for awhile.
A short picnic and drink break brought some heat-related relief. Just as the sun started to peek through, Mom brought out some serious bubble fun.

This beautiful mother takes her son’s hand as he balances on the wide bridge wall. Madison’s Tenney Park offers a lovely stone bridge to cross over from park to beach.  

The boys gather pebbles from the water’s edge to toss back over the bridge. They make kerplink, kerplunk burbles toss after toss after toss.  Curly hair, dimpled knuckles, skinned knees, perfectly dirty hands is pure childhood joy. It may seem small, maybe even trivial, to capture this mundane activity, yet there will come a day they won’t stop to pick up pebbles to toss into a body of water.

We had Tenney Beach all to ourselves to finish the evening. The sun was low, the beach ducks were swimming, and the boys found more rocks. Oh, so many rocks.

 

“Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.”

—Jenny Han

Your child gets just 18 childhood summers; they go so fast and the memories last so long. Let’s document a beautifully ordinary summer day for you, for your child.

xo, Jen

Beautifully Ordinary is a trademark of Jen Lucas Photography, LLC.