The Great Outdoors

Wow. I guess I don't blog much these days. Seeing as how I'm now 37 out of 40 weeks pregnant, I guess I'll cut myself a little slack.

I just had to post a couple of fun things. After and amid torrents of rain, spring has finally sprung in Salt Lake. We're getting some good outdoor time. Last week Bitty went on her first school field trip. She was supposed to have gone on one earlier in the season, but it was just too cold and snowy or rainy. So finally the class made it out to the local gardening store: Cactus and Tropicals. For an adult, 25 minutes of walking around a garden store can be fun but might not be that exciting. But for 10 little three- and four-year olds, it was a trip through a magical kingdom. They were convinced that they were actually walking through a tropical forest and the hot dry desert. Pretty fun. We nearly had one bystander get pushed into the koi pond, but her dad made a quick rescue and all was well.



Also fun to witness has been Stomper's foray into the world of all things slimy. On Friday he had a playdate with a girl in his class. This is actually the first time he's really wanted to play with one of the girls instead of a boy. I wondered how it would go, as in the past when he's played with gals in the neighborhood he's gotten really frustrated when they didn't want to play dinosaurs. Well, the two couldn't have been more compatible. Despite a cloudy and somewhat drizzly day, they spent their entire playdate outside. For at least three hours. It was awesome. Though some time was spent in the apple tree, their real fun came when they found a snail, and decided it needed some nurturing. Oh, the time they spent finding it a good home (a large empty plastic planter box) and giving it what Stomper called "its habitat." Grass, leaves, water, of course. But they really went above and beyond and gave the thing some toys (the plastic animal variety) and some friends - other snails, a worm or two and a millipede-looking thing. Amazingly enough, the snail even survived all the attention. His name is Slimy. Appropriate, don't you think?



The next day Slimy's nuturing was continued. Bitty had a playdate with a gal from the 'hood, but they weren't getting along too well. Instead, the friend and Stomper spent a very rainy morning on the back porch playing with the snails. They actually had snail races going for at least an hour. I'm sure the snails were running for their lives at that point, but to no avail. The other snails were eventually dubbed "Sticky" and "Fred." Apparently Fred is a biter, so look out.



And now at this moment, the day is drawing to a close. Homework has not been done, dinner has not been eaten, but I cannot bring myself to call the kids inside. They are out in the back yard digging in the dirt, finding additional creatures to add to the mini-zoo in the bucket. They are completely filthy, and that is how it should be.