Summer Fun with children has endless possibilities

I have learned that fun can happen without spending lots of money. One of the challenges for me has been coming up with exciting adventures for the children as they get older--- without spending the big $$$$$.  Seems that as they move up in age they move up in high dollar fun as they learn about all the “things” that exist that are fun and EXPENSIVE--- and naturally they want to have and do them all--- over and over in fact.  I’m not against trips, amusement parks, appropriate movies, eating out, all manner of age appropriate electronics and on and on.  These endless entertainment opportunities are fun for the kids BUT they need to have fun doing simple things as well.  Don’t you agree?

I recently had some BOY TIME for a few days and we decided to back to one of our all-time favorite summer activities.  This one is particularly perfect for a hot day.  We’ll let the photos explain:

 

Yes, they are 100% MALE so naturally are required to begin the outing with a couple of duels.

 

So our adventure includes my 5 grandsons and one extra buddy. (One of my grands was not in ther above photo.)  I should tell you that one of my sons, who is the father of 3 of these warriors, was creek-side. With this many active boys in a wilderness area like this, I like to have another adult along.

So off the go, hunting for minnows and crawdads.
The creek in our city park is truely a beautiful place. The water was high on the day because of some earlier rain.

Be careful!   I insist that we all wear some kind of shoes in the creek because of sharp rocks and unfortunately an occasional piece of glass. They also make for better traction in slippery places.

Searching -- Searching

 

   Nature is fun to observe in a place like this

Looking for snakes too.

Well we did not all emerge unscathed.  But the oldest helped the youngest to recover from his injury. and he was fine within a few minutes.

Well, I guess I should tell you that I took a tumble myself on that otherwise lovely day.  Fortunately, it was not captured on film.  :)    [Though perhaps it would have won us $10,000 on the "World's Funniest Videos" TV show.]   The oldest grandson had handed me their bucket with about 15 minnows (in water) to carry back to show his dad.  I climbed out of the creek and thought I was home free, when suddenly my foot slipped in some mud. My legs flew up in the air and I hit the ground with a big thud---  I mean a really big THUD!  And the bucket flew about 10 feet into the air.  Have you ever seen minnows fly? They actually don't do it very well.  My son was a mere few feet away but could do nothing to help as he witnessed his mama go down for the count.

Fortunately, I came away with only some bruises and soreness.  It's funny the thoughts that race through the mind of a 64 year old woman as she is going down.  Let me tell you, I have a lot to be thankful for! It could have been a much worse outcome.  Thank You, Lord!

 

By this time, we were all ready to head for home. The adventure was grand, as we continued to build memories.  My grandsons live in two different states so rarely get together and I am so glad we had the opportunity to share a favorite summer escapade.  Maybe you'll take some of the children in your life to the creek someday. I would love to hear about it.