Collecting Treasures

Me and the kids enjoyed a great spring day at my grandparents. We go on Tuesdays to visit and the kids have tolerated it but they don't usually have that great of a time. There aren't any toys and my grandparents aren't exactly the cuddly sweet type. I usually have to have a special talk afterwards afterwards about the words that Grandpa said and remind them that God loves all races:)

Yesterday though, I remembered why I loved visiting my grandparents house and the kids will maybe start creating some positive memories as well. There are so many places to explore outside of the house. My kids love bugs, any creatures and collecting things.

We were actually ready to go home and play at the park when Maddie discovered some nuts on the ground. So we went to the source of the tree and they all worked together to collect them. But Maddie didn't plan on cracking them anyway--she wanted to wash and paint them as soon as we got home. AJ has a good mixture of rocks and nuts in his container. Cheyenne dumped out both of their containers once they filled them but did help fill them back:)

Of course who can crawl around the ground without looking for some bugs. Grandpa helped us search for a new snail for our family, but we ended up with a potato bug family instead."Thanks" to grandpa for turning a board around to reveal 30 potato bugs:)
There is always a big, fluffy cat hanging out. I remember you could always find a momma cat with babies hiding somewhere. They have 2 of their own that stay outside but 3 more strays that hang around and they are pregnant. I am excited for the kids to see the kittens, but Grandpa said he is going to take them for a drive...anyone want 2 pregnant cats?
Cheyenne loves animals but apparently any dog bigger than her 7 pound "Tito" is scary:) She did like the brown lab from across the field though.
I try not to be a paranoid mother. I am cool with bugs and dirt, but not so cool with rusted sharp objects, sliver happy playground, a slide that is tipping, open holes and a sandpile that has been grandpas dumping zone. I want to restore the old toys this summer and clean out the sandbox so I feel better about it. This time around I was just very watchful. It is so fun though to see the same toys that I sat on at their age. We also found an old wasp nest when we were looking for a worm for our turtle. AJ got stung twice last year so he wanted to make sure it was an old one before he touched.

The weather was so nice that we did go to the park after as well. Lets say it wasn't my most productive day, but I deemed it a kids day:)

My Cheyenne has scared me a few times and climbs up the playground and goes down the big slide by herself.


By the end of the day we sure were tired, but we now have a large family of potato bugs, a worm in a cup, a container of rocks, and a large ziploc filled to the rim with nuts. Lucky us:)