NATCHEZ — Summertime. Children are out of school, the weather is hot and those ribs in the freezer practically are begging to be thrown on the grill.

That’s what summer is for the Johnson family, anyway.

When The Dart landed on Duncan Park Saturday evening, Gwen and Michael Johnson were enjoying an afternoon with their children Juztice, 15, and Michael Jr., 2.

Gwen said they woke up that morning and decided to get away from their home in Jonesville for some family time.

“We use this time to see what everyone had done for the week,” Gwen said as she sat at a picnic table watching her daughter chase her son. “We hope we will always be able to have family time.”

Gwen said her family goes on outings together fairly often, with the last one being in late June for Michael Jr.’s second birthday.

With few plans for the day, Gwen and Michael said they got up and decided to drive the 45 minutes to Duncan park, armed with ribs, hamburger meat, pork chops and a small grill to take care of any hungry tummies, along with bubbles and toy trucks to keep their son occupied.

Michael said he loved watching how active his young son is as Michael Jr., ran around with an unopened juice in his hands, trying to get it open while he ran from his sister.

“I like running behind him,” Juztice said. “And I like pushing him in the swings.”

The family had never been to Duncan Park before, but ended up spending several hours enjoying the warm weather and time with each other.