There is a river about two miles from our house. Whenever we head west we drive over that river. When we first moved here I told myself that everytime I drive over that bridge I have to look down the river so I never forget or get used to its beauty.
So this past year has been super awesome with vehicles for our family (note the sarcasm). They are constantly breaking down. My sister jokes that Will's part time job is fixing vehicles. True that! He spends at least 5-10 hours a week fixing at least one of our three. Well the little Hyundai finally gave up the ghost about two weeks ago. Upside: Will will no longer be fixing that one, so more time spent toward fixing the Explorer. Downside: the kids and I are carless. A year ago this would have really bothered me. I am such a goer, but being intermittently carless with all the breakdowns, I've gotten used to being a homebody and have actually come to enjoy it.
So the kids and I have to make our own adventures now. Will dropped us off down by the river on his way to work. We played down there for a few hours. The kids loved it. There's a slow moving area on one side of the island in the river that we like to play in. The kids call it the mermaid pool. Liam thought it was hilarious when he'd go in deeper areas and end up floating because of his life jacket. There is a big log sticking out over part of the river and he would get a big kick out of floating under it, walking around it, and doing it all over again. Liam and Belle are my fearless ones. Evee's a little more cautious. She loves playing in the sand, so she was in heaven playing on the beachy area on the island. Belle kept trying to push herself and see how far she could swim underwater or how long she could hold her breath.
After we were sufficiently raisins from the water we hiked back. The road is too narrow and windy to walk back along, so we cut through the trees. The first third is state park so there are paths. The last two thirds are I don't know what. Someone's wooded property? Hope they don't mind! So we were bushwhacking it through. Liam was in my backpack and fell asleep, but Evee and Belle were troopers They had their skirts full of rocks, seeds, and sticks to carry back. We came out through someone's backyard, and walked the sidewalk back home. It was brutally hot and humid that day, but we didn't care. We had fun anyway.
Hiking back. Belle with a towel on her head.
Me and my little man.
Isn't Belle so beautiful?
Looking for little seeds and nuts.
These two little besties.
These car malfunctions have sure taught me something important - how to have a positive attitude. My mom used to read a book to me when I was little titled "So What if it's Raining". In it the kids find ways to have fun even though it is raining. So what if we're carless, we can still have fun!
