Outside Play

I remember riding around my neighborhood on my bicycle as a little girl. I would circle my block more times than I can count, and it never got old. There were 4 trees before the first corner, 9 houses before the railroad ties, another turn, a steep incline, and then a long hill down to our house.
My sister and I would run to the grocery store on our bikes and get things for our Mom. I still think to this day that she never really needed what she asked us to buy, but it was a good way to get us out of the house for a bit. I remember being outside constantly, and loving every minute of it.

These days, it seems like you can't let children even so much as circle around the block alone - no matter how "safe" your neighborhood is. It is really pretty sad that our society has made such a drastic change for the worse.

I do, however, want my children to enjoy the wonderful outdoors. I want them to enjoy this beautiful Spring weather.

So every day, they play outside. They play outside in our backyard. They play outside for hours - and that is NO exaggeration.

They find things to do that I would never dream. They play games under the clubhouse, they peep through the fence at the neighbors, we read books under our big tree, they turn the water on and get each other wet, they jump on the trampoline, they swing each other, they go to our shed (which they call a barn) and pretend to feed their animals, they push each other from the top of our incline to the bottom on the tricycle,(I'm waiting for someone to break their arm, or run into that aforementioned huge tree!) they get their toy cars & trains and push them down the slide, we picnic at the table on the back porch, they play ball, they (Jilian) eat dirt, and the boys have taught their 14-month old sister how to climb the 6 extremely steep steps on the ladder to go up to their "clubhouse". Yes, she does this alone and will laugh the entire way up because she knows how much it freaks me out. She has gotten herself dirtier in the last two weeks than both of her brothers combined ever have. That little Sassy "Miss Priss" is going to be one tough cookie for sure.

I find such joy in watching them do all of these things together. For so many years, it was just Jaydon alone. Even though his brother & sister are a lot younger, he still enjoys being out there with them. ...and the two little ones are like twins - they won't do anything without the other.

We also go to the Farmer's Market and buy new fruit every week. We sit on the back porch and peel/cut everything together. They get out their plastic utensils and help me. Jacoby loves to feed his sister, but he doesn't always get everything right into her little mouth. Then we I laugh (they squeal with delight) as the juice drips onto our shirts from the new tasty treats.

It is such a blessing to be at home with them. It is so nice to be able to enjoy these special moments together. Daycare would never work for me. Jaydon attended daycare for a couple of years, and I'm glad we don't have to do that again. There are some great ones out there, but that is just not for our family. There comes a time when they will need to be with other kids, but that can wait until they are 3 or 4, and even then, it won't be all day. For now, they just need to enjoy being little, enjoy each other, enjoy their mommy, and enjoy that they can go outside whenever they want to. 

My hope is that they continue to teach each other how to do things. I also hope that their laughter and happiness in getting to do things together never dies down. My hope is that their outside days only grow more fun as they get older & wiser.

The pictures below say it all.
I'm such a proud Momma - so proud that they are mine!