Seesaw--G Style

"A seesaw is a long, narrow board supported by a single pivot point, most commonly located at the midpoint between both "ends"; as one end goes up, the other goes down" (Wikipedia).  Well, not always. Not at G's house.

Now, let's see. How does this thing work?

 

 No, not that way!

Maybe if Noah walked up toward Laurel...

 Is is right about here?

And then they found just the right spot...

 But careful...it has to balance just right!

 

Now if Noah just runs down here...

Or if they change ends...

Oh, never mind...just Play!

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord.Psalm 127:3

Climbers of Trees

How long has it been since you were a climber of trees?

Maybe too long?  

Can you remember the first tree you climbed?
Even if you had to have a leg up? 

How high did you go?
Cautiously low? 

Or "take your breath away" high?

Life does have its risks.

Did you swing like a monkey?

Can you remember the last time you climbed, even if it was your Last Tree?
If not, maybe you should climb just one more.

Climb while you can. If you can't climb, still want to.
If you want to stay young, never stop wanting to climb trees or catch lightening bugs.

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord.Psalm 127:3

Summer it is!

As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that
the summer is already near. (Luke 21:30)

Yes, it's too hot too quickly. The gnats and mosquitoes are bad. The wasps and yellow jackets are worse. The humidity is so high that it saps all of your energy, and the plans you made in the spring, anticipating the summer, may have to wait until the cool of fall. Nevertheless, summer is The Best!

Let's have some fun on the pond dam. 

 

 

 

Love the evenings that go on forever...

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord. 
       Psalm 127:3

Popcorn and a Movie

Popcorn and a movie anyone?  

What your choices are depends on whom is in charge at the moment.
If Noah is in charge, it's likely a game.  
If Laurel is in charge, it's likely PBS Kids.
On this occasion, it's a pretty sure thing (aka obsession) that Duncan was in charge of the 3 on the couch, and the movie/cartoon was about Dinosaurs. 

Can't let the others get ahead of you

For Gunnar, the lone child in the easy chair, the subject was almost certainly "Excabators" or other Big Machines (aka obsession). 

What was that, G?

Don't mind if I do, thank you.

At any rate, there were satisfied customers at G's house.

 

Cheesy looks and an empty bowl say it all

 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord.
       Psalm 127:3

Snake in the Gutter

Seems like an ordinary front walkway, right?

No---this is the site of a recent and infamous bout of Snake in the Gutter!  

Remember playing this game on a sidewalk in front of your house growing up?
One player...the Snake...guards the walkway (the Gutter)...

while the other players run back and forth across the Gutter, trying not to get tagged by the Snake (or maybe hoping to get tagged and become the Snake).   

A stick goes across the Gutter so the players don't get too close to the road.

All that running makes everybody blurry.

G doesn't last too long as a player, either.
Can't be perfectly sure that all players in this case totally understood--

but "a good time was had by all" anyway.   

Just one more game to play at G's house.

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord. 
       Psalm 127:3

A Visit to Crocodile Forest

To look at this stretch of woods, you would never know what was within all that green.

“Where are we going to go today, Mommy?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Noah. Where do you want to go today?”
“Hmmmm,” I thought for a minute. “I know! Let’s go to the Crocodile Forest. That might be fun!”
“Well, let’s wake your sister up and get dressed, and we will go.”
“Can we wear our boots, Mommy?”
“Absolutely,” Mommy told me.
After we were all dressed and had our boots on, we took the walk through the soybean field to Crocodile Forest.  

It is called Crocodile Forest because my Daddy says he saw a crocodile in it one day. I’ve always wanted to see a crocodile, but Mommy says I can never ever touch one. Crocodiles can be kind of grumpy.

We found the little path that went into Crocodile Forest, and Mommy held our hands. The trees were so pretty. Their leaves were yellow, orange and brown.
Then we heard leaves crunching behind us.
“What’s that noise, Mommy?”   

“I don’t know, Noah. Let’s be quiet and listen.”
The noise was getting closer. A big pile of leaves was moving. It sounded like something was coming right to us. Maybe it’s the Crocodile. It must be the Crocodile!
It’s getting closer, closer!
Out came a...turtle.

It’s just a turtle hiding in the leaves.
Whew! That was close.
Mommy lets us play on some big trees that have fallen down, and we pretend we are trains crossing the tracks.Then we hear another noise.

“Shhh!! What’s that noise?” Mommy asks.
We listened carefully. The noise was coming from under the ferns.
It made a Squish Squash sound.
The noise got louder, louder.

Out came a…snail!
Whew! It is only a silly snail, not that grumpy crocodile.
Next Mommy took us to skip rocks on the pond. She showed us how to throw them so they would skip on top of the water.  

Just as Laurel was getting ready to try, we saw something in the water.
It was long and dark brown. Bubbles were coming up from around it.
“Mommy, Mommy, I see it! It MUST be the crocodile. It’s swimming in the pond. We have to get out of here!”
Just then out of the water came a…log.  

Just a plain brown log. Not a grumpy crocodile.
“Come on, children,” Mommy said. “It’s time to go home and have a snack.”
“OK, Mommy. But can we come back to Crocodile Forest tomorrow? Maybe then we’ll finally get to see the crocodile.”

By MWD

Crocodile Forest...a magic place not far from G's house...never mind that it really was once an irrigation pond. Never mind that it might not really have a crocodile in residence. At least we've never seen one...yet. 

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord. 
       Psalm 127:3