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| So happy to be outside! |
Weekends are always a coveted time at our house. I love having everyone home, mostly because we get to spend time together, though the kids will probably say it’s because I have extra hands to help me clean and do chores. True, but we also do fun stuff. Although to me, work is fun.
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| Filling up the trailer with mulch for the garden. |
It’s not often that I have an entire twenty-four hours of muscle from Jack, babysitting and go-fering from the kids, so Saturdays, I’ll freely admit to taking advantage of the extra bodies. That usually lends to a full, busy, tiring day on Saturday because on Sunday, we respect it as the Sabbath and take a day off.
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| See? I let them have fun on Saturdays, too. |
Even rarer this time of year is a sunny weekend. Indiana tends to be quite gloomy and gray and this February, metaphorically and literally, has been one of the gloomiest I can remember so when the sun comes out and it’s above freezing, it might as well be a miracle.
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| We’re getting plenty of maple sap for syrup this year. 😋 |
The thing is, though I appreciate the sun and warmth, the truth of it is that I don’t often sit back and enjoy it. Saturdays, we work regardless of the weather because even on a small farm, you have to. But, when a sunny Sunday rolls around, there’s plenty of time to soak it in.
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| Everyone racing to the top of the driveway to ride their bikes down it. |
Last Sunday, we had one of the very finest Sundays I can remember in a long time. After church, lunch, and a quick nap, I was sitting inside on my computer when Jack came in and reminded me I’d better enjoy the beautiful weather while I had it. I agreed. With Peter on my hip, we went out.
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| Kate being the silly race official. |
I laid down on one of the tree swings and watched the kids go up and down and up and down the driveway. They had friendly races, practiced their skills, and went off exploring when they were ready for a break.
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| Henry’s getting better at his balance bike. Putting on his helmet? Not so much. |
It was even warm enough that Henry pulled out his firefighter water gun and patroled the property for fires. Finding none, he tried to soak his sisters instead.
Zoey borrowed his other one and followed in her big brother’s bike path. Not exactly hard to escape her though.
I am forever in awe of my kids’ creativity and especially appreciate it when they do it outside because it always comes at the cost of them making a mess. This time, Claire made her very own bow and arrow, then a sword and shield. She put all the sticks we have to good use.
Raven also enjoyed the sticks she’d find on the ground. She loves to fetch (though dropping it when asked is questionable) and when she’s done, she sneaks off to give her teeth a good workout in chewing it to bits.
Jack? He found a bigger stick to keep him occupied…one of the dead ash trees gave up the ghost and fell into the pond. It makes for a rather good lookout when determining pond and fish health.
Even though we went outside, we still did a lot of the same things we always do. Calling grandmas is a routine we don’t usually miss, even if it means multitasking. Evelyn can roll down the driveway on a skateboard while talking up a storm…
…while Zoey prefers to smother Peter to the brink of insanity with love while swinging and giving grandma a play by play retelling of the torture. She can’t help that Peter is so cute and she HAS to kiss and hug him and hold his hand!
Peter is no longer a little baby, either. He is a speed crawler and if I ever take my eye off of him, he’ll be halfway across the county by the time I notice. It’s especially challenging when he sees his siblings having fun without him. He will crawl and climb his way to them in record time.
There are a few hazards to playing outside–ripped dresses, skinned knees, dirty children–but it’s something we’ve learned to roll with. If it means getting out of the house for an extra dose of sunshine, we’ll deal. These sunny Sundays won’t last forever and they’re a welcome glimpse of perfection.
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| A little mud splatter never hurt anyone, right? |
