Oh, the Joy of Playing Outside

One thing that I yearn for my children to have and experience is a backyard. It’s such a simple pleasure that I hope to never take for granted again after living in a stairwell apartment.

I long to be able to send my children outside to play in the grass and dirt with fresh air abounding all around them.

The best thing about our marriage retreat last weekend, other than learning about marriage, was the excitement and happiness the girls and Will experienced playing outside.

The bungalow we stayed in had a small little backyard and patio area. EA, MC, and Will picked up sticks in the yard and played with them. They ran around and chased each other. And Keith was able to get some pictures of playing outside.

On Saturday, we went for a nature walk through the woods. It was so much fun for all of us, except for the occasional rock that found its way into EA and MC’s shoes. Will almost didn’t know what to do with himself and the semi-freedom that the walk in the woods gave him. He wanted to run around and explore. He ran, he walked, and he rolled in the fall leaves.

We were able to capture some wonderful “Father Son” and “Sister” pictures.

As we were walking I played with some manual settings on our camera. Most of them didn’t turn out, but I had fun walking behind Keith and the children trying to caprure the perfect picture of my family in this beautiful surrouning. And with just a tiny bit of editing, this is it.

Keith took a picture of me in the woods. I’m terrible at having my picture taken…I have my own “four year old smile” thing going on.

And here’s one tip from our walk…Flip-flops should never be your first choice in shoes when walking through the woods. Luckily I survived without breaking my neck!

Playing outside and walking through the woods is a finer thing for us. Visit Finer Things Friday at Amy’s Finer Things to see more!