I'm sure I added at least five years to my life today by riding down the rapids (on the creek near my house) in a little blow-up canoe. The kids were taking turns - so it seemed only fair that I got a turn too. We're lucky to have the creek so close to the house...but it takes twice as long to get there and back as the blackberries are ripe. Today we had intentions of picking enough for a pie, but only a few dozen ended up in the bag...but they'll be good on ice cream tonight!
The creek is fun for exploring and catching crawdads - and it's deep enough to swim in, but this year I bought an Easy-Set pool. It's only takes an hour or two to set up - but you do need level ground. As I have only one small spot in my yard that is reasonably level, I bought the smallest pool - only 8' across and 30" deep, but it includes a filter and pump (on sale at Big 5 Sporting Goods for $50. Walmart and Target stock them and you can buy them online). I found a pool test kit at Home Depot for $6. I check the chlorine level nightly and add chlorine bleach if needed. It's small but the kids are in it at least four hours a day. It's small enough to easily empty and pack away at the end of camp.
This morning we did letterboxing - which went over well with ten year old Eva - but 8-year old Ethan thought it was boring and the grass made him itch (he's got allergies). We'll be hiding a letterbox on a public trail near the house that the kids can check when they come to visit.
I had planned for the kids to learn how to play chess this year - but so far, there have been too many other fun things to do...so they have yet to play a game. Perhaps tonight we'll learn how to play poker! (I even bought poker chips). Is this leading my grandchildren astray? And as the mother-of-all-crawdads didn't take Eva's bait, we'll be eating hamburgers for dinner, followed by s'mores. If the sky is clear we'll count shooting stars and the kids can run around in the dark with their light sticks. The only thing missing to add to the fun are lightening bugs - which aren't found in this part of the country!
Tomorrow (the kids don't know about it yet) we're playing SURVIVOR! They will be told that their pirate ship has sunk and all they could save was a bucket each - which happens to contain 2 trash bags, 6' of rope, a dish towel - and a few more things. They have to do a variety of tasks including making a signal flag and a shelter. I think it'll be a hit as they love to watch Survivor and Man vs Wild.
I think that if you are going to continue to go down rapids in a canoe at your age, you need to give the kids the camera, put it on "movie" mode and let them take pictures so we can all see them! If nothing else, a still would be ok! We need proof....
ReplyDeleteYou doubt me? The kids will testify in my defense!
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