The Great Outdoors

The last Fancy Nancy book the girls brought home from the library inspired a tea party.  This time, it inspired an explorer’s hike!  As per the book’s suggestion, Susie gathered up a backpack, camera, magnifying glass, gloves, and notebook and set off with her siblings into the wilderness that is our backyard.  It was a beautiful time of day, just before sunset, and I was as entranced as the kids by the exploration. We found that the little stream that runs through the land was swollen with our recent rains and the kids clambered along the edges looking for a place to ford the creek.  Danny tried valiantly to keep up with the others, even though the sticks and branches were more of a hurdle to him than his longer-legged siblings.  Jimmy used his eagle eyes to point out all manner of bugs and plants, and Susie kept clicking away at her camera to document the outing.    

I was later telling my dad that I find myself in the position where I desperately want the kids to be independent and adventurous, especially when it comes to the outdoors, but I’m constantly fighting back worries about broken bones/tick bites/concussions if I give them too much freedom.  But my dad reminded me that the childhood adventures that he now remembers the most fondly were the ones that involved some bodily injury.  I only wish his mom was around so I could ask her how she kept her nerves in check while her youngest son was out jumping off snowdrifts and falling into icy streams!  I’m proud of my little hikers, and while I hope and pray they avoid bashing their heads on one of the hundreds of rocks studding our property, I’m excited to see where their explorations take them.  I just hope they don’t bring home a Fancy Nancy book on cliff jumping!   

Here’s Susie recording her observations (translation: I found a rock.):