Going on an Adventure

   Something happens in the spring here...things start to grow, the temperature warms up, there is about 2 weeks of spring fun. Blowing bubbles, puddles to play in, playing on the trampoline, playing hide and seek, seeing birds and rabbits in the yard....and then....the blackflies and mosquitoes come in droves!!!
   I'm not talking about a few pesky insects, the insects are actually so bad that we have the blackflies first (for about 2 weeks), then, when the mosquitoes make their appearance, the blackflies clear out!  You literally step outside, and have biting bugs landing all over you right away!
   So, all that to say it can be hard to get out with the kids in the spring. I don't even make them play outside because the bugs are so bad, and that wimpy kids bug spray is not actually made for repelling bugs. Seriously, it's not. I'm not sure what it is made for, but I think if anything, the bugs like that kids' bug spray.   
   Behind our house we have a forest, and when the bugs are a little more scarce we will go for treks, but heading back into the woods has not been an option because of the pesky guests. Finally, bugs and all, we asked the kids if they wanted to walk back there, and they all agreed (fools).  :)    

This picture cracks me up because even though we were being eaten alive, the kids agreed to stop for a picture by this beaver dam! Good sports!

   Was it a crazy bug fiasco? Heck yes! Where the kids whimpering a little (a lot!)? Yes! Where the adults faking not minding the bugs so the kids would think it was o.k. to be bitten by 10 mosquitoes at once? You bet! Did they buy it? Mostly! Our 4 year old found a turkey feather that she used as a bag waver-away-er, and at one point our 9 year old had a branch from a pine tree on his head to keep the bugs off. That was brilliant. I tried it for a bit. 
   But besides getting 30 new bug bites each, it actually was fun. Why? Because our kids got to see spring a little closer up. Even though they see it every year, winter can make us forget about what's under all that snow; all the life that is hiding there. We pointed out a beaver dam, birds nests, found some bones (I didn't tell them they appeared to be chicken bones {our chickens vanished one by one last fall|), saw 2 snakes, lots of new a cool looking bugs, pointed out animal tracks, and taught them about different types of trees.

None of the kids noticed how many bugs were on them when we managed to pick this guy up.

   The point is, whether you live in the country or the city, get your kids out to see the world they live in! I'm not talking about just sending the kids outside (which is not a bad thing, when the bugs start to go away, we do it too), but about heading out as a family to "explore". Dora style.
    Ever since that walk, my 4 year old is saying she collects bones and snakes (yuk), my 5 year old still knows that a white pine has 5 needles (w-h-i-t-e. 5 letter, 5 needles=white pine), and the 9 year old still says, "the woods are so many mosquitoes!!!" O.k, so, maybe he didn't get as much out of it as we wanted, but I know he had fun! 
   Most cities or towns have a "rail trail" going through it, or a conservation area, or something you can go for a walk and see the "real world", as we call it. Just do it, ignore the bugs (or dip yourself in a vat of bug spray), and head out on an adventure!