Outdoor Fun

For all of my whining about this long winter, I've got to say, we'll take it over the hot southern summers. My children truly have northern blood running in their veins. They have played outside more this winter than they did all year long in Charlotte. Seriously. They go outside every day after school. In fact, we've had neighbors tell us how grateful they are that our kids get THEIR kids to go outside and be active too. Kennedy occasionally goes door to door with the neighbor boy offering to remove snow or ice from people's driveway for $3 for each of them. (No takers yet.) They dig forts and clubhouses in the snowbanks, and they slide on the ice. This can be dangerous, however. Saturday Julia came in crying because the neighbor kid jumped on her while she was sliding and she banged her head on the ice. She had a big ol' purple golf ball on her forehead. I tried to take a picture of it but she wouldn't let me. (She's so vain!) Ice, ironically, did the trick and the swelling went down, but she still has a bit of a bruise. The little ones don't get out as often because I have to dress them and I'm lazy, but Devon, at least has been getting out more and more too. When we were in NC, they rarely went outside in the summer for any length of time, unless we were at the pool, and they had no snow to make winter outdoor time exciting so they didn't go out much then either. Anyway, I'm just happy to see them being active and getting fresh air. My memories of my own childhood are filled with stuff we did outside-playing in the haymow, walking the brook, playing in the tree house, catching crayfish, playing freeze-tag-under-the-legs, riding horses, sledding, skating, digging snowdrift tunnels, playing fox and geese, jumping in leaf piles, floating boats down swollen spring streams and ditches, playing in the meadow in the huge puddles in our swimsuits during a summer rain, riding on the hay wagon, inner tubing or swimming at the river, stacking up the inner tubes on the lawn under the maple tree and jumping on them, picking carrots and tomatoes from the garden and eating them on the go, climbing the apple tree, picking daisy's, playing at The Fallen Log, wandering in the woods, playing on the big rocks in the pasture, going to the barn with Dad to do the chores, always always always outside. I long for my children to have that. They are finally getting outside, but we just don't have the acreage here to let them really strike out on their own and discover the land like we did as kids. I would love to settle down on a piece of land with a brook running through it. I'd like a small barn where we could keep a couple horses. I'd like a big garden so I could preserve lots of my own food. But for now, we're enjoying being outside, taking advantage of the parks nearby, prepping for a decent garden this year, and making the most of what we DO have. And speaking of gardens and such, it's supposed to be 41 degrees tomorrow-and sunny! 5 days this week will be above freezing! Spring really IS coming! Hurray!