playing outside

My kids are awesome outside. While we live in a suburban area, and we do have access to some great spaces... kicking my kids outside doesn't always work. There isn't really anywhere for them to just mess around and explore. Our old house at HillStead was like that though (yes I still miss it in so many ways).
A pond, just a 1 minute walk down the driveway, provided hours of fodder for play. Throwing sticks into the stream and watching them float under the bridge, waiting for them to show up on the other side.... throwing rocks way into the center and seeing the ripples... watching the ducks who came every year to lay their eggs.... messing around in the dam at the far end of the pond.. and more.
Trails to walk on were always beckoning. And then there was always just a good place to sit and watch the trees blowing in the breeze, or the deer grazing, or go and pick some daffodils that grew all over the hill in the spring.

Yesterday, we were about an hour early to a birthday party. The parent who told us the wrong time, was later so apologetic. I thanked him though instead, as we had a wonderful hour of smiles. It was a gift. Eli doesn't smile that much. But in his element of being a smart creative kid, he does. (in the straight jacket of traditional schooling... he doesn't).

So, the boys and I ended up walking along a rails to trails path and discovering a little oasis of a treefort. Okay, it wasn't really a tree fort- it was a platform that someone had built about 6 feet up in between a bunch of trees. There was a rope hanging down and the boys were swinging on that. Emmett was gleefully howling "I'm Tarzan!!!!" as he was swinging wildly. Eli was exploring, climbing, and figuring out how to shake a fallen tree to get it all moving with his body... then helping emmett learn to do the same.

The sun was glistening, and the boys and I were happy. It was a really good way for all of us to spend the hour. We need a new space to be...... I love it when they are like that.