Simple Play. Big Fun.

In our family, we play a lot. We enjoy being active and being outside. And my kids? They really like getting dirty while playing. So having a home that backs up to woods and a creek is a dream come true for us. It's not our woods, but we play in it and enjoy as though it were our own.

When the older boys aren't running around with their pellet guns, we all go back and explore together. Sometimes we walk or climb trees. Sometimes we build forts and have pretend battles. Sometimes they play and do their thing while I simply sit on a rock and enjoy fresh air without being bothered. It's a win-win.

I know the neighbors appreciate (?!) when my kids are running wild in the woods, because every dog on our culdesac sounds off over the noise coming from the trees. And they're not shy about yelling from far off and telling dogs to stop barking, or from emerging from their hidden places to pet and calm a dog down. In some ways, they treat the neighborhood dogs as their own and I kind of like that they enjoy some perks of having a pet without us needing to have one.

We've improved our skills at identifying animal tracks, animal droppings, and various animal homes. Mind you we don't actually see the animals because of the un-stealth-like way we traipse among the leaves, but still. Our eyes are open and we are hopeful.

Grady is the first to find fallen logs that he can lift or drag to make a stabilizing base for a lean-to. Micah is keen on climbing trees and vines and seeing how high he can go before I panic and demand he come down. Annalyse talks to her make-believe friends and has full conversations about being a pioneer family or Indian family. Jaxton is just loud and daring and curious and does his best to carry big sticks and pretend they're guns along with his big brothers.

No toys. No screens. No supplies. Just active bodies and curious minds. This is enough for several hours of play several days a week. And for this I'm so thankful.