Rollin' Rachel and puddles

Sometimes we get a little messy around here. We went out this morning to enjoy the beautiful weather. Rachel is on a roller skating kick, so she wanted to practice skating on the driveway. She uses her baby doll stroller as a prop in front of her so she has an easier time balancing. It helps her roll forward and get the feel of how to move her skates. Anyway, we started out doing that and Rachel was having so much fun. Then, I decided to water the plants and ferns. Unfortunately, the kids have come to enjoy the HUGE puddles that form around the pine islands. I allowed them to jump, run through them the first few times the puddles formed and they have gotten increasingly more comfortable making the biggest splashes that they can. Today they were so soaked with mud that it was in their hair. We ended up going in and taking a bath before lunch. It was pretty fun to watch them having so much fun with a mud puddle. Rachel would run from as far as she could and jump trying to make the biggest splash. Bradley thought she was hilarious and tried to do the same thing. Of course, his jump into the puddle was more like a giant step. But, he was still very amused and proud of himself. What was really funny to watch was the kid's running becoming slower and slower as their pants, socks and shoes got heavier and heavier with muddy water. Especially Bradley...he could barely walk towards the end of their fun because he was so weighed down. It was hilarious. Of course, allowing all this "fun" is actually just way more work for me since their clothes had to be rinsed and then soaked and then washed to get all the Georgia red clay out. Also, we had to add the pre-lunch bath. But, at least the kids enjoyed themselves. From now on, I think I'll start watering in the morning (or during Bradley's nap) before the kids go out so it has enough time to absorb into the ground before we go out to play. At least that will eliminate the great appeal of the messy, muddy puddle!

I wish I could post some pictures from today, but I'm having trouble uploading to blogger. Maybe another day when I figure out what the problem is. :)