We were blessed with gorgeous weather again yesterday and so, much like the day before, we spent 90% of our time outside in the yard.
Jim and Kyle had some Vargas & Son work to attend to in the morning so the girls and I went for a little stroll around the neighborhood. I love going for early morning walks; everything is so peaceful and quiet! When we returned home Savannah went down for a nap so I took Bella out to the yard.
Spending quality one-on-one time with the kids is one of the biggest challenges I face on a daily basis. The attention I give to them is split 3 ways...4 if Jim is home! It's such a treat when I'm able to focus on just one kid, without constant interuptions. Since Kyle was gone and Savannah was sleeping I took full advantage of having Bella all to myself. We filled the kiddie pool, opened the sand box and brought out some paper and paints. In many ways Bella is a lot like Kyle in that, for the most part, she knows how to keep herself busy and content. She painted a bunch of pictures before playing in the pool and then she hit the sandbox to make "car castles". We chatted about all of the things she finds important; kitties, birds, bugs, spiders topped the list along with ponies, babies, flowers, numbers and colors. It was a nice way to spend the morning!
Come mid-afternoon our yard was hopping with kids! Kyle, Bella & Savannah enjoyed having Riley, J.D. & Delaney over. Kyle & Riley spent most of their time together playing with squirt guns, using the Tree Fort as their "base". The little ones wandered around the yard taking in all the excitement. Our yard was full of some of the best noises to be heard; lots of laughter, giggles, squeals of delight and baby babble! Of the 6 kids 5 of them were in full motion so I was definitely busy keeping my eyes on everyone but fortunately Mike & Joan provided two extra set of eyes which was a big help for the times in which I had to run someone in to use the bathroom! It was such a happy chaos, though!
Afterwards, when all of the "extra" kids had gone home, my kids were bathed and in bed & the yard was cleaned up for the night, I was telling Jim how much I loved watching all of the kids play and just be KIDS! It was great!
These days it seems like most kids spend their "free" time indoors (even on nice days!) watching TV or playing video games. They have little want to just go outside and play & even less want to use their imaginations. When my kids are outside they rarely ask to come back inside, unless it's to use the bathroom or get a snack. Their imaginations alone keep them busy so they're never bored.
Recently I was telling a friend about our day earlier this week, when we were outside from morning til dusk. She seemed surprised at this & asked me what they did to keep busy for so many hours. I answered her in two words: "They Played". It's what kids are supposed to do.
I think a lot of times parents get too wrapped up in thinking that they need to constantly entertain their kids. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great fun to go to the beach, park, zoo, bowling, mini golfing, movies etc but I have to say that my kids have the most fun right here in our very own backyard. It's where so many memories are being made on a daily basis. They're learning to appreciate the little things in life that don't cost a penny and in my opinion that's one of the most important things they can learn.
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