We stopped off for a run at Silvermine the other day… After three hours of gym the Hoods had a little bit of excitement to burn off. I know they are killing me in the most delightful way!!! Anyway nothing beats the great outdoors and I have to toss it into our day at every opportunity. In an effort to be slightly more spontaneous than the “School Mam that I am…” I try and drop by here when we drive past. No packing, no planning… just going with the flow and following the path where ever it leads until we are content with ourselves and can return home all filled up with wide-open spaces.
Some of us couldn’t contain our joy…
There were “Pooh Sticks”…
There were teams…
And there was just such excitement!!!
So much so that I found a hill for them to dash up…
And down… again.
Just join the dots…
Up…
And dots…
And down again…
And again and again and again…
And finally we were calm enough to stop and smell the honey suckle:
Squish the squelchy aloes… looking for cuts and scrapes to treat…
Feel a feathery catepillar…
Examine the wintry flowers…
Compare the spikey:
And the hairy:
Wonder at the termites homes:
Knock on the crispy shell:
Feel the sand papery surface:
And see if anyone was home…
And finally hear the crunchy gravel underfoot…
And swing the shiny gate shut…
But the best part for me, wasn’t so much the back of this head…
Or the curve of a little man’s cheek…
It was this little trusting hand!!!
I can’t believe how blessed I am to live with such sweetness!!!
This Post is part of The Thirty Minute Mom’s Challenge at Steady Mom.
huh, Your honeyscuckle looks significantly different than ours!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeysuckle
Sorry, spelled that wrong “honeysuckle”.
Wow – what a great day, and beautiful scenery. Our honeysuckle looks so different!
Love unplanned adventures like this! I can’t wait until my crew is a little bit older so we can go on hikes! 🙂
Oh my goodness, those last 3 photos with your words are the absolute sweetest!
What a wonderful hike, it was neat to see so many different plants than we have here in Ohio. I would go crazy to see the wild aloe, we have to grow it as a houseplant. The termite home is really cool too!
lisa
Very blessed!
I’m impressed that YOU had the energy after the gym!
Kate
Hey Mighty Mom of Se7en + 1!! I so appreciate these posts …. I need a reminder sometimes just to sit outside on my lawn!! 😉 I get so caught up in stuff to do in the house … and I really loved how you said you just arrive, no plan, no prep, just climb out the car and breathe! Well done!
lovely pics. so do you dress them in matching shirts to recognize them? I can’t decide on a color that is easy to spot my little one in. recently we went to an event with a few hundred children and I was appalled by the number of lost children…seriously? is it that hard to watch your kids? my mother left me at a store once when I was young and I’ve been traumatized for life so that really hits home to never do that.
Dear Christine and Kelly, You have found my week point – my failing, dare I say. We have a hedge with the honeysuckle that you are more familiar with. This is a bush that is packed with flowers and bees that smells exactly like honey. It may even be called a honey bush – and herein lies the failing: As a child whenever my father labeled a bush or a bird… I thought it’s either a bush or a bird and I have never had very much desire to know more!!! I asked him about this bush and he ever so graciously said: “Bushes like children are indeed individuals just as soon as you get to know them.” Hmmmm point taken – this bush is more than a bush and really could be called anything under the sun for all I know!!! Hope you guys have a great week.
Dear Christine and Kelly, You have found my week point – my failing, dare I say. We have a hedge with the honeysuckle that you are more familiar with. This is a bush that is packed with flowers and bees that smells exactly like honey. It may even be called a honey bush – and herein lies the failing: As a child whenever my father labeled a bush or a bird… I thought it’s either a bush or a bird and I have never had very much desire to know more!!! I asked him about this bush and he ever so graciously said: “Bushes like children are indeed individuals just as soon as you get to know them.” Hmmmm point taken – this bush is more than a bush and really could be called anything under the sun for all I know!!! Hope you guys have a great week.
Hi Michelle, I have to say hike is a bit of a euphemism… I also have a lot of short guys and the under 1, two year old and three year old can be overwhelming!!! It certainly does help to have big guys available for piggy back rides!!! It looks like you guys are going to have a fun summer I hope you have plenty of time to put your feet up!!!
Hi 5orangepotatoes, Thank you so much for your Outdoor Challenge… you certainly make us appreciate our outdoors so much more!!! Hope you guys have a fun week!!!
Oh Kate!!! Notice that I am standing in one spot while they career up and down the mountain!!! The camera never moves and neither did I!!! Have a fun week!!!
Hay Mliss, Oh I hear you!!! Sometimes I get so caught up in planning and I just cannot get out of the door. Do we have to pack a snack for a quick run-about… not really!!! We were home for lunch anyway!!! So I really am trying to just drop everything and do stuff – turns out that the jobs get done anyway and It really can turn a boring old day into a brilliant one and we still get to bed eventually!!! Hope you have a fun week!!!
Hi Nina… Nope they were on their way home from gym and they all had their gym t-shirts on by total fluke!!! However we did go onto the World Cup Soccer later in the evening and it was really really handy to have everyone in the same t-shirt with millions of people everywhere. As soon as someone strayed even slightly a bystander would direct them back to the pack… amazing I know!!! We have trained them quite well to stick to us like glue – I practice whenever I go anywhere walking close and together. In a crowd a bright t-shirt helps… a funky hat and I have even bought mine all balloons at one event so that I could see where they wandering without being in their space. I do have one wanderer… and I just have to constantly remind him that we are together, moving, stopping, whatever… So no it isn’t that hard to keep everyone together!!! Hope you guys have a good week, lots of love.
Had to share this with you: My 2 yr old was sitting on my lap as I opened this post and when the first picture was downloading and she saw your son jumping with both arms in the air, she said: He says Ha-ye-yu-ya! That is Hallelujah in toddler-ese! Looks like we’ll be having a spot of sunshine here today, so I’ll follow your example and get my two into the great suburban outdoors, too!
Hallelujah right back Joyful Mother!!! Enjoy the sunshine!!!
What a fabulous adventure! I love the photos of everyone playing Pooh sticks — I remember playing that as a child! Such fun!