"The Forest"

The kids and I have a new favorite place. The kids call it "the forest" or "the duck pond". It has both...AND a playground. It's like heaven on earth, kid-size.

This was our trip there last week.

This was right before Hope accidentally stepped in the stream.

This is immediately after.

She was disturbed at first, but Noah and I kept laughing and she eventually got over it. Thank goodness cause she could have thrown one heck of a fit.

Further up the Provo River Trail we found another park. Eden decided she was too tired to go on so Noah carried her for a minute. What a studly little man.

This week we went again, and Eden was being especially funny. She wanted to bring her back pack so that she and Noah could play "ghosts" (Luigi's Mansion) a game they've been playing around the house all week. I knew she had some toys in there, but I didn't really bother to check exactly what she had. She surprised me when I turned to see her grab juice from her back pack, chug it and put it back in, just like a professional backpacker. She came prepared, which is more than I can say for the rest of us.

Eden was very happy to be on this adventure. She kept grabbing leaves while jabbering about making a cake. Then she would pick up sticks and wave them around while singing her made-up songs. She kept up with big brother and sister but took one wrong turn and fell in some really thick mud by the stream. As it was happening, scenes of the Swamp of Sadness in The Never-Ending Story flashed through my head. Remember when Atreyu makes really dramatic facial expressions while he is trudging through the swamp?

Unfortunately, my attempt to document the moment didn't do it justice. I had thought about snapping a picture before picking her up out of the muck, but then a 22 year old version of her little voice interrupted that thought with a "MOM, how could you?" She was not happy about the mud and whined about having to go home and take a bath. After scraping most of the mud off she was good to go and eventually found a little spot to clean off her shoes in the water. But then of course she didn't want to wear them because she said, "there water in nem."

So from then on she went barefoot. Like this.

She didn't get to follow Hope and Noah in the wooded areas, she had to stay on the grass, but she didn't seem to mind.

 Her hair is getting longer and she is growing up so fast.

I took what I thought were some really good shots. I was so excited thinking about how cute they were going to turn out and was even considering framing a few. Then I got home and realized that most of the ones I was so excited about turned out incredibly blurry.

 

I think they were playing the hobbit. See below where Noah is thoughtfully touching his chin.

Hope said several times that she was sure she could climb this tree. She didn't get very far, but seemed satisfied with the distance she did make.



 

After exploring we unloaded Eden and Hope's bikes from the van and rode up the Provo River Trail for a little bit. 

Noah thought Eden was quite funny on her little tricycle cause her little legs would pedal so fast and she would hunker down like she was really flying. 

 

She must've been working hard cause she got thirsty and had to pull over to get into her well-packed bag.

 

I got such a kick out of watching her with that bag. Getting out her drink and then, zipping up her bag, just as though she had been hiking and adventuring for years. Finally she decided to drink and drive. She almost caused several accidents on the trail....seriously. You can't tell by the photo, but she is moving while she is chugging that apple juice. Dangerous stuff.

She also had a mini magnifying glass in her backpack that she pulled out and kept stopping to check out bugs on the pavement. Then she held it up to her eye like a monocle and looked all around her while she was driving....another hazard. Several more accidents avoided. Her first lessons in distracted driving. 

 

We decided to make this place a weekly outing. Next time I think we'll follow Eden's lead and bring some water bottles for everyone - and some water shoes for the Swamp of Sadness.