Rocks & Sticks

So the kids had an early release day and we didn't make any plans.  After some squabbles about what we should do on a beautiful fall day, I decided we would compromise and do one small thing on each person's list.  For Anabelle, we went to Target to look at shoes.  For Sadie, we got ice cream.  For Elise, we played outside and for me, we walked through the woods.  Despite the bumpy start, it ended up being a great afternoon.  My favorite part was when I took the kids to a little spot by the reservoir to eat our ice cream.  At first, we all sat there on the dock, but after a few minutes of chatting, the girls started throwing rocks and trying to see who could make the biggest splash.  Then that turned into finding the biggest rock which turned into digging in the mud to pull out those rocks.  Then that turned into making tools to pull out the rocks.  Which turned into who could come up with the coolest collection of rocks.  I really enjoyed watching my girls play.  I think lots of children don't have opportunities to do that or just choose not to...especially middle schoolers.  Sadly, play takes a backseat to phones, TV, and video games.  I was such a proud mom watching my girls just be.  It was so wonderful for me to see their play develop and change; to see them interact with each other and have fun outside on such a beautiful day~