A day in the river

          One of my favorite things to do with these girls is to get out of our city rut and let them feel the fresh fun of outdoor carelessness.   We are raising these girls in the city lines for now and even while they spend plenty of time in trees in our back yard getting lots of outdoor playtime in,  my favorite childhood memories were not shopping, movie theaters or dinners at restaurants. We didn't visit children's museums or art museums on spring break or summer vacations.   My parents kept it simple and family fun didn't require any money or tickets to pass away the hours on our days off.   I cherish those times my sisters and I sat playing on our front porch, in our dusty barn or riding off exploring new hillsides on our trail horses.  One of our summer favorites was when we slapped on our nasty "creeking shoes" and headed up stream to see what entertainment the chilling mountain  water could provide.     I know I have a lot pictures of our girls in muddy water but I want them to experience those simple joys I grew up with.   It's important to me they know life doesn't take money to find real joy!  God's amazing creation and time with those we love are more then enough for a good time.
    We have a small park alongside  a creek here that is great for lazy picnics and swimming.   We went today to enjoy the absence of screen time and share some laughs.   It was a great day and beautiful weather to enjoy it in.  There were a few other families who showed up at the end that the kids befriended.  The girls set aside their prissy hesitations and accepted the challenge of catching crawdads in butterfly nets.   A sweetheart of a boy named Michael was there with supplies to share.  He was a expert with a very sweet mom that I hit it off with and got to know sitting there watching in our camping chairs.   I learned he was much older then he looked and was Autistic.   That's why he seemed to have an odd depth of expertise on the little crabs.  The girls loved how eager he was to teach them about the creatures and how to catch them.   They must have caught close to 50 of them by the time we headed out.
   We swam and played for a couple hours before deciding to head home.   As we wrapped up the fun I noticed much to my horror that Chloe had discovered a condom by the river and was filling it up like a water balloon.    My sharp shouts startled her when I screamed to "drop it and walk away!!!".  She barely even had a breath to protest as I would hear no argument at the disgusting new...toy she had found.  EWWW!!    Only Chloe.   Abigail proceeded to pump me all the way home with ....."Mommy what was that pink balloon?  Why was it so bad??".  ...  "I'll tell you when we're alone sweetheart.   That's a big girl question."      Love these two.   Never a dull moment!!