Greening Sam and Avery

back at home

After a long weekend in St. Louis we are back at home and settling back in.

The weather down in St. Louis did not exactly cooperate. My poor friend Tracy had to get married in the rain! Literally. She was determined to have the outdoor wedding of her dreams and even though the constant sprinkle was coming down she dealt with it and got married outside anyway. We all got wet but she looked beautiful and the ceremony was perfect. And certainly a wedding I will never forget!

The rain kept on and the boys could not go golfing so instead we took five energetic kids to the St. Louis City Museum. This place is the largest example of upcycleing I have ever seen! The whole place is made out of materials that have been reclaimed from old construction sites, schools, buildings and other places around St. Louis. And the kids can do just about anything; run, climb, create, yell, ride a train, slide, crawl through a maze, explore a hallway of mirrors, and much more!

 

Yup, I did some climbing too!

She got a little too high!

The kids had a blast!

This is certainly a green tourist destination and an awesome place to play with kids! Or grown-ups, they have late night events that include a bar...but you can still do all the fun stuff that the kids can do during the day!!

a great weekend

We skied.

I taught survival skills. We hiked. I shared some great snow play ideas. We talked with lots of new friends, old friends and saw some amazing presentations. We heard a great speech from John Francis, the planet walker.

The Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education put together an amazing Winter Workshop!

And now it is time to recover and get back in the swing of things at home!

she doesn't have to love every kind of outdoor adventure

Deep sea fishing is not for Sam. She was sick pretty much the whole boat ride! We were all very impressed because she never cried, whined or spoke even one word of complaint. She just kept throwing up, everywhere, and on everyone!  Disgusting! 

We had a few minutes at the beginning where she was not sick and then a little time at the very end where she was feeling okay, but other than that her trip was pretty rough. It didn't help that the fishing was horrible and we only caught one fish.

Way to go Uncle Craig.

But Sam got to see some sights and when she wasn't sick she had a great time on the boat.

Sam sat up for a few minutes when she really wasn't feeling well and was able to see a group of humpback whales that were not too far from our boat. It was amazing! Even though she was SO sick I still think she was pretty impressed.

Sam got a chance at the end of the trip when she was feeling better to reel in the bait fish. She was thrilled and thought she had caught a fish! We didn't argue with her.

At the end of the trip the captain was emptying out the bait bins and feeding the birds and sea lions. He got one sea lion to come all the way up on the boat and we pet it!

So cool to see a sea lion that close!

As we headed back to the house Sam told me that she never wanted to go on a boat again. I talked with her about all the great things that we saw but she still insisted that she didn't like it and didn't want to do it again. I don't blame her. If I had gotten that sick I wouldn't want to either. BUT I think I am going to make her take another boat ride while we are down here! I know, I am a mean, bad mom, but hear me out. They have these little tourist boat rides that you can take where you get to see the sea lions in their natural habitat, visit some secluded beautiful beaches and some awesome rock bluffs. The boat stays close to shore the whole time, is a short ride and there are stops to get out along the way. I think this type of trip might be a great way to show her that not all boat rides will make you sick and miserable. There is a risk that even this short and calm ride will make her seasick, but it is a risk I am willing to take so that she goes away with good memories and a willingness to try it again. Do you think I am crazy?

Okay, gotta get ready for the beach later!

outdoor play link up - a great setting helps

Okay, so I have been trying all morning to load pictures of the house and setting that we are in but either my pictures are just too big or the internet here is just not strong enough, I don't know. But the pictures just won't load. I will be working on figuring this out!

Anyway, we are in a beautiful place with a pool, golf course that we can run and play on when golfers aren't there, a beach within walking distance, lots of green space and much more! Can't wait for all the outdoor play we have ahead of us.  

 Hear more about how to create an awesome outdoor play space in a few days (Nov. 30th) when Kristin from Exploring the Outdoor Classroom stops by to guest post!

Now, on to the feature for this week! In think Jada Roo Can Do rocked the outdoor play this week by setting up a whole shoe shop for her kiddos outdoors. How cool is that? Sure it probably took some time to get it all out there and set up but I bet the kids had a blast!  Love how this mom took the initiative to bring toys into a whole area for her kids and turn what is typically indoor play into some very creative outdoor play!

How did your kids play outdoors this week?

Share your ideas for outdoor play activities with us! Here’s just a few guidelines for sharing.

• Any kind of children's outdoor play is welcome. If it happened outside, then please link it up!

• Please do not share any competitions, promotions, or posts that are not related to Outdoor Play.

• Please remember to link back to this post and help us spread the word about the importance (and fun!) of outdoor play!

• Each week we will feature an activity from the previous week. By contributing you are giving permission for an image and link to your post to be republished.

thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful today for a safe and easy travel day.

I am thankful for a beautiful house and beautiful scenery to spend the next week.

I am thankful for family, both near us and far away.

My daughter's are thankful for "blankies, the pool and you mommy".

Hope you are finding yourself filled with reasons to be thankful today.

preparing for the ocean

We leave in just a few days for the beach! Woohoo!!!

So I have been doing a few things to get the girls ready for our trip and to help them be more comfortable with the ocean. 

We have been reading some of the books that we have that deal with the ocean and beach.

 

We have also been playing with and crafting with the seashells that we have. Sam and I have also been talking about walking the beach to find more shells.

The craft we did was super simple. I made some shapes on paper board, then gave Sam glue, shells and beans. I encouraged her to make her own shapes but she just really wanted to keep glueing on the shapes that I drew.

The shells that we used were a part of a necklace that broke and when we ran out of shells we just switched to beans.

And then we looked at some of the other shells that we have.
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They liked hearing about the shark's teeth too!

The girls have had some serious hesitations about the ocean in the past. I am hoping that talking about it, getting them excited for playing on the beach and knowing that there are other things we can do there besides just swimming will make them more willing to spend time on the beach. I will keep you posted on how it goes!

Back to packing...

outdoor play party - play while you travel

Once you reach your destination finding time for outdoor play can be easy or at least possible. You may have to make it a priority, ask others to find time for it or make sure that it gets planned into family functions but it can be done. But while you are traveling, between destinations and on your way, outdoor play may not be what is on your mind. For us our most frequently traveled path is by car to visit family. And while we like to "just get there", as I like to say, fitting in some outdoor play has become more important to us recently.

Finding places like Peck's Farm Market along the roadside is great!

We have also learned how to utilize rest stops to their fullest potential. You can read it here.

Planning stops that include exploring and even hiking is a great way to break up a long road trip.

So traveling this week I stuck with the rest stop trick. The girls hit the playground, we searched the green space for natural treasures and played around with comparing sticks that we found. The outdoor play helps my girls to be willing to get back in the car. To be willing to sit and sing songs, look at books and talk to each other for several more hours. The outdoor play, even though it makes the trip longer in time, makes all of us more patient and happier with each other.

Outdoor play on the go, not perfect or incredibly "green", but very important!

Now on to the party...

My feature post this week comes from No One Has More Fun Than Adams'! Her Leaf Hunt post is great for several reasons. First off, I am a sucker for scavenger hunts and I love that this one is not just looking for colors but also comparing size and counting. Plus, it is GREAT when teachers, parents and bloggers are willing to freely share what they created. The print out that she put together is great and I think it is awesome that she shares it!

Be sure to check out her post and if you still have leaves falling give the hunt a try!

How did your kids play outdoors this week?

Share your ideas for outdoor play activities with us! Here’s just a few guidelines for sharing.

• Any kind of children's outdoor play is welcome. If it happened outside, then please link it up!

• Please do not share any competitions, promotions, or posts that are not related to Outdoor Play.

• Please remember to link back to this post and help us spread the word about the importance (and fun!) of outdoor play!

• Each week we will feature an activity from the previous week. By contributing you are giving permission for an image and link to your post to be republished.

a visit to the country

Is there anything better than being surrounded by extended family with THIS as your setting?

We headed to Westby, WI this weekend to spend some time with Chris's aunt, uncle, cousins and grandparents. The girls always have a great time exploring, playing with cousins and seeing the great-grandparents.

They got to build a snowman with their cousins,

and search the woods to make it complete.

And had fun with some hitch hikers (which were not so fun when they got horribly tangled in Polly's tail, the family golden retriever!).

But we also got to hike and explore their property.

And the girls got to see their dad test out his shooting skills on a fake deer.

So much family time and outdoor play over the last two days we are all exhausted!!

How was your weekend?

Day 364: camping wrap up

The last day of camping was pretty simple. Well, as simple as cooking pancakes and breakfast burritos for 30 people on a charcoal camping grill can be. As simple as having 13 kids ranging in ages from 15 to 18 months all wanting to fish at the same time. So, yes it was a crazy and chaotic morning but it was a morning filled with beaver tail slaps, kids in boats on the water, fish being caught, toddlers chasing grasshoppers, families eating together outside and sunshine!

Not much could be better than all of that in my mind.

 
Exhausted and ready for bed. I have many more other pictures and stories to share but those will have to wait for tomorrow!

We will be celebrating Day 365 by looking back over our trip, telling the stories and looking at the pictures plus I will pick a winner of THE GIFT! (so if you haven't entered be sure to check the sidebar page.)

Day 363: camping where the kids outnumber the adults

Yes, there are more "kids" in this giant family group then there are "adults".  Although I think some of the adults are sillier and more out of control then some of the bigger kids!

Here is where we are today!  Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park Be sure to click over and check out the pictures of the incredible rock formations that we get to explore and swim around in.

This is where we are camping for two nights, swimming, canoeing, playing, hiking and exploring!