Kids will be kids.

What do I love about camping?  Aside from no cellphones, no "to do" lists, no agenda and plenty of quiet time, I love that kids get to be kids.  In this day and age, it seems the era of imagination and child's play can be rare.  I remember growing up and building forts on our property, spending entire days making true "mud pies" using sticks as our utensils and running wild. 

We have city kids.  There are swimming lessons, play dates, art classes and story times.  Those are all incredibly awesome things, but when I watch the girls play while we are camping it just makes me smile.  They hide behind large trees hoping that Kevin and I would not find them.  They help haul fire wood to the campfire.  They spend hours practicing their casting with their fishing poles.

They tromp around in the rivers in the absolutely freezing cold water.  I recall when we were up at Bulltrout Lake a couple of weeks ago Kendall was wading in the freezing cold water and announced to Kevin and I that she was going "swimming".  We gave each other a sideways glance and watched her proceed to plunge into the frigid water.  She came up and the water had literally taken her breath away.  These are good times.  These are the times that I remember as I child. 

I will never forget fishing with my Dad on the dock during a VERY cold spring morning.  I must have been about 8 years old.  It was so cold out that we were bundled up in pants and jackets.  There was a rope tied to the end of the dock that I kept throwing in as far as possible, teetering on the edge of the dock.  Despite my Dad's warnings, I continued to do this.  After about the fifth warning, I threw the rope with all my might and landed in the freezing cold water fully clothed.  The water was over my head and I remember the cold taking my breath away.  I came up from the water to see my Dad laughing and yelling all at the same time.  "I told you so" was all that I remembered hearing him say.

Sidney was so proud of herself.  She was walking across her log.  As we were leaving camp on Sunday morning, she kept begging to walk on her log "just one more time".

We went exploring on some of the back roads and found a really awesome spot where the creek had dammed up.  There was quite a pool of water behind it.  The day was so hot, Kevin even jumped in with all of his clothes on.

The girls were sitting in the cold water asking Kevin to time them to see how long they could sit there for.  Silly girls.

Yes, we are busy.  Life is busy.  I have found that these moments that we get to steal, away from all of the hustle and bustle, have become something that I really look forward to.