The Simple Joys

There's a park near us.  Right downtown.  If you park on the far side of said park you walk past a little river before you arrive at the playground area.  One of the things I like about this is that we rarely end up at the playground area.  Don't get me wrong.  I like the swings and monkey bars as much as the next person.  What's even better is the small adventure I get to take with my children when we're not on the swings.

Every time we get near that river we stop to find rocks.  We can spend 45 minutes or an hour just standing there, looking for rocks and seeing who can make the biggest splash.  None of us have quite figured out how to skip rocks like Daddy does.  The baby spends most of her time trying to figure out what she can get away with putting in her mouth.  Usually, everyone comes home muddy and wet.  But we all have an amazing time. 

People believe that children reintroduce us to all the really fun things in life.  In my opinion, my children are someone to share all those fun moments.  To add their own little unique twist.  Here's a few of our favorites.

* We, as a family, received a large basket of craft supplies for Christmas.  My son decided we all needed to make trees.  You would be surprised at what animals live in trees these days, but they made a pretty cool forest.

* Legos.  Everyone got Legos this year.  One day, my husband and I waited for the children to take a nap just so we could have a turn.

* Having a picnic on the front lawn.  Don't worry if the neighbors think you're strange or the baby is eating the grass again.  Think of it as not having to clean the table.

* Playing in the mud puddles.  Yep, it's messy.  Yep, some days I don't feel like dealing with the laundry.  There's nothing better than the feeling of mud oozing between your toes and the happy look of little people as they splash in the rain water.

* There is no end to the combinations you can devise from Thomas' train tracks.

* Having a sleep over in the living room.  Make sure there's plenty of snack food.

* Running through the sprinklers.  Even better if you have an ice pop.

* Coloring is still a classic.

* Collecting sticks.  If you're really feeling adventurous, save them for later and burn some marshmallows.

* Have you ever built a house for a slug in the front garden?

* Watching the planter in the front yard to see if anything is growing yet.

* Finding out what's hiding back in our woods.

* Playing hide and go seek in our house.  Not many places to hide here, but we still manage to play.

* Chasing each other in circles from the kitchen to the baby's room to the living room to the kitchen to the baby's room to the living room ...

* Watching the same movie so many times that you can fill in the blanks on the dialogue.

* Picking every stray piece of clover or dandelion in the yard because they make a pretty bouquet.

* Wishing on a dandelion.

* Waiting until dark so you can lay on the grass and look at the stars.

I just realized that I could probably sit and add to this list all day.  I may even go back and sneak a few extras in after I post this.  However long the list gets, though, it's a good reminder to stop taking life so seriously and get back to the simple joys.  What are your favorites?