" isn't this a lovely spot to picnic, Ray?* Maya asked as she set the basket down.

Ray nodded. " It really is."

The sun was shining. The birds were tweeting.

And Mia was..... Nowhere in sight.

" Mom, have you seen Mia?" Nya asked.

Maya shook her head. " Last time I saw her we were getting out of the car."

" You don't think she's still in there so you?"  Kai asked.

Jay shrugged. " I'll check."

" I'll come with you " nya volunteered.

Ray turned to Kai. " You go too. Me and Maya will set up."

They nodded, and ran back to their parking spot.

Mia was inside the car, mapping out where to go. " Well.... I suppose we could go there.... And maybe here.... And-"

" Hey, Mia." Jay said as he opened the door. " Whatcha doing?"

" Nothing. Just mapping out our stay."

Then she picked a red marker. " We can't go here... Or here.... Oh boy no way there."

* Mia, it's nice of you to map where we are, but perhaps have a bit of fun?*

Mia looked up. " This is fun!*

Blackie meowed. " Of course it is."

Mia shot him a look.

Nya leaned in, glancing at the map Mia had been working on. "You've already marked off half the places, Mia. Are we even going to have anywhere left to visit?"

Mia frowned, holding her marker firmly. "I'm just making sure we don’t end up anywhere... dangerous or boring. Gotta keep us all safe, you know?"

Kai chuckled, standing beside the car door. "Mia, it's a picnic, not a mission. I think we can relax a little. Plus, Mom and Dad picked the spot—it’s perfect."

Jay nodded in agreement. "Yeah, how about we leave the map for later and just go enjoy some fresh air? Maybe play some games?"

Mia paused, looking at her carefully planned map, and then at her brothers and sister. "But what if something happens? What if we get lost?"

Nya knelt down to her level and put a hand on her shoulder. "Mia, we're all here together. Nothing's going to happen. And besides," she winked, "if we do get lost, I think we've got plenty of ninja skills between us to find our way back."

Blackie purred, rubbing against Mia’s leg. "You heard her. I can always lead us back, too."

Mia sighed, feeling a bit of the tension release from her shoulders. "Alright, fine. But if we get lost, don’t blame me!"

Jay grinned and ruffled her hair. "Deal. Now come on, let’s get to the picnic before all the snacks are gone."

With a reluctant nod, Mia closed her map and followed her siblings back to the picnic area. As they approached, the smell of food wafted through the air, and the sound of birds singing filled the sunny spot. Maya and Ray were already laying out the blanket and setting up the food.

"Ah, there she is!" Ray exclaimed with a smile. "I was wondering if our little adventurer had gotten lost in the car."

Maya laughed, pulling out some sandwiches. "We were just about to start without you!"

Mia smiled, looking around at her family, the beautiful picnic spot, and the food spread out before them. "Okay, maybe this does look a little fun."

Kai gave her a playful nudge. "Told ya."

Few minutes later, Mia darted off into the forest, and Jay raised an eyebrow, pausing mid-bite. "Wonder where she's going?" he mused, watching her disappear into the trees.

Ray chuckled and reached into his bag, pulling out a small drone. "Oh, we can find out easily!" he said, activating the drone with a swift motion. The little machine buzzed to life, hovering above the picnic area before flying off in the direction Mia had gone.

Nya smirked, leaning back on her hands. "Of course you have a drone ready to go. Typical Dad."

Kai laughed. "Yeah, you're always prepared for anything, huh?"

Ray winked at them. "Gotta be when you’ve got kids like you. Now, let’s see what Mia’s up to."

The drone followed Mia's path through the forest, its camera showing her kneeling in a small clearing, already at work. She had spread out a new map on the ground, markers scattered everywhere. She was talking to herself, intensely planning something as she scribbled down notes, completely focused.

Jay groaned loudly when he saw the screen. "Of course she's planning again. Can’t she just sit still for one minute?"

Maya shook her head with a soft smile. "She’s just like you when you were her age, Jay. Always needing to be prepared for everything."

"Yeah, but I wasn’t that... intense," Jay muttered, though he knew deep down Mia’s behavior reminded him a lot of himself.

Nya chuckled. "You were worse."

Ray patted Jay on the back. "Don’t worry, she’ll grow out of it—or she’ll just learn to make it her strength. Either way, it’s who she is."

Jay sighed, watching Mia through the drone’s feed. "I know, I know. I just wish she’d relax once in a while."

As the drone hovered over Mia’s head, she suddenly looked up, narrowing her eyes at the machine. "Seriously?" she muttered, recognizing the sound. She stood up and crossed her arms, glaring at the camera.

"Come on out, Jay! I know you’re spying on me!" she yelled toward the trees.

Back at the picnic, everyone burst out laughing.

"She’s onto you!" Nya teased.

Jay rolled his eyes. "Alright, I’ll go get her before she starts planning our entire lives. Be right back."

He stood up and jogged into the forest to retrieve his over-prepared little sister.

Jay found Mia completely absorbed in her map, several markers scattered across the ground around her. She was muttering to herself, making detailed calculations on their next steps.

“Hmmm... if they finish their lunch in the next two minutes, we might be able to hit the trail. But oh no,” she mumbled, drawing a big red ‘X’ over a section of the map. “There’s water. Nope, not going there. And... ugh, nowhere with too many trees. Kai can set them on fire.” She underlined the trees part for emphasis.

Jay smirked, shaking his head as he approached her quietly. “Mia, you know Kai doesn’t actually set things on fire on purpose, right?”

Mia jumped a little at his voice, spinning around with wide eyes before narrowing them in playful annoyance. “Maybe not on purpose, but it could happen,” she insisted, crossing her arms.

Jay sighed, crouching down next to her and glancing at her map. “Look, Mia, it’s great that you’re planning everything, but we’re here to have fun, not worry about every single detail.”

“This is fun for me!” Mia protested. “I don’t want anything to go wrong. What if we get lost or, or... someone falls in the water?” She pointed to the part of the map marked with ‘dangerous water zone.’

Jay gave her a gentle smile, ruffling her hair. “You can’t plan for everything, sis. And even if something goes wrong, we’ll handle it. That’s what we do, right? We’re a team.”

Mia scrunched her nose. “But what if something bad happens?”

Jay knelt down, meeting her gaze. “Then we’ll figure it out together. You don’t have to plan for every possible outcome.”

Mia hesitated, looking back at her map, before sighing. “Okay, but no water and no burning trees, okay? I’m serious, Jay.”

He chuckled. “Deal. Now, come on, everyone’s waiting for you. Let’s just have some fun, no more over-planning.”

Mia picked up her markers, glancing at her map one last time. “Alright, but if something goes wrong, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Jay laughed and slung an arm over her shoulder as they walked back toward the picnic. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll take full responsibility.”

As Mia and Jay returned to the picnic area, Maya looked up from where she was lounging on a blanket and smiled. "Relaxing, are we?" she teased, noticing how focused Mia still looked.

"Yep!" Mia replied enthusiastically, plopping down beside her mother with a bright smile. "And I’ve got everything planned out!" She pulled out her map again and began to rattle off their schedule in rapid detail.

"Okay, so, at 4:54 and 42 seconds we finish lunch," Mia said, tapping her finger on a spot in the timeline. "Then at 4:54 and 45 seconds we finish packing up and start walking to the trail."

Maya blinked, slightly taken aback by the precision. "That’s... very specific, sweetie," she said, trying not to laugh.

Kai, who was lounging nearby, raised an eyebrow and nudged Nya. "You hear this? She’s got everything timed down to the second."

Nya chuckled. "Sounds like something you'd do, Jay," she said, looking at her husband.

Jay shrugged. "Hey, I like being prepared, but this is next-level."

Mia, completely oblivious to their amusement, continued listing off the rest of the activities. "At 4:56 and 30 seconds we should be halfway to the trailhead. And by 5:00 on the dot, we’ll be deep into the forest, avoiding all water zones and tree clusters that could, you know... accidentally catch fire."

Ray, sitting next to Maya, leaned over to her and whispered, "This is what happens when you raise a child among ninjas."

Maya chuckled, nodding. "Apparently so."

"Mia, honey," Maya interrupted softly, "you don’t have to plan everything so strictly. It’s okay if things don’t go exactly as you scheduled. The important thing is to enjoy yourself."

Mia looked up from her map, frowning slightly. "But what if something goes wrong? What if we miss the trail or... or we run out of time?"

Jay placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We’ll be fine, Mia. Like I said earlier, it’s all about having fun. If we take an extra minute or two to enjoy the scenery, it won’t be the end of the world."

Mia sighed, her grip on the markers loosening a bit. "Okay, but... no going off the trail, alright? And definitely no swimming!"

Maya laughed, pulling her daughter into a hug. "Deal. No swimming, and we’ll all stick together. But we’re here to have a relaxing day. No need to keep looking at the clock."

Mia reluctantly nodded, finally setting her map aside. "Okay... but we’re leaving for the trail at 4:54 and 45 seconds," she added, causing everyone to laugh.

At exactly 5:05, the entire group lay on their backs in the clearing, staring up at the sky. The clouds drifted lazily above them, forming shapes that everyone else saw as animals or objects. But Mia, ever the over-planner, had a completely different perspective.

“That one’s a cumulonimbus, indicating vertical growth, most likely carrying a storm with it if the conditions are right,” Mia said confidently, pointing at a towering cloud in the distance.

Kai squinted, clearly trying to follow along, but he just gave up and let out a soft laugh. "Uh-huh. Totally. Cumulonim…what?"

“And over there!” Mia continued, gesturing to a smaller, puffier cloud. “That’s a cumulus humilis. It forms when the air is stable. You can tell it’s not going to rain because they usually signal fair weather.”

Nya raised an eyebrow. "You mean... fluffy white clouds?"

Mia shot her a look. "Yes, but they're called cumulus humilis."

Jay scratched his head, glancing from one cloud to another, looking completely lost. "I thought we were just gonna say they looked like bunnies or dragons," he muttered under his breath, though he was smiling at Mia’s passion.

Maya, trying to keep up, nodded politely. "That’s fascinating, sweetheart. I had no idea clouds had such fancy names."

Ray, lying next to Maya, smirked. "I’m just seeing shapes. That one looks like a giant sandwich."

Kai laughed and pointed. "Oh yeah, totally a sandwich."

Mia sighed dramatically, her passion for random facts shining through. "You guys really need to learn these terms. Clouds aren’t just shapes; they tell you so much about the weather and—"

But she was cut off when Blackie, lounging beside them with his eyes half-closed, let out a long, exaggerated yawn. "You lost me at ‘cumulonimbus.’ Can we talk about something a little more, I don’t know, interesting? Like nap time?"

Mia rolled her eyes. "You just don’t appreciate the beauty of science, Blackie."

Blackie flicked his tail. "Or, I appreciate the beauty of sleeping."

The rest of them chuckled, and Mia, finally giving in to the relaxed atmosphere, smiled and lay back down, letting her cloud observations drift away for a moment.

As they all lay there in peaceful silence, Jay whispered to Kai, "I’m still seeing a bunny."

Kai grinned. "Same."