Water Wars and such.....

I am tired of the dismal news of late... and need
a change of pace.


The subject of fun with your kids came up the other day.
Which got me to thinking about some of the fun the kids
and I had.

In the summer it was nothing for a water fight to break
out. There were no rules in the beginning. We lived in
an old house that was built in a coal town in the early
1900's. While we loved the house, we didn't have to
be really careful... So what would start out with
glasses of water, growing to water guns, and
then hoses... most of the time out of the house. But
there were times we would be running thru the house.
There would be someone manning the sink hose, which
of course got water all over the floor. By the time the
water war was over, the kitchen floor had to be swept
out. Having had about an inch of water on it. That was in
Roslyn, Washington.

In Ellensburg, we ended up trading off from water wars
to mud wars. We had a creek that ran thru the property.
With a spur off the back side. Which most of the time
had just enough water in it to make a mud bath. It was
quite often that the kids would be throwing, and rolling in
the mud. There were the monsters of the mud bog. Where
it was hard to tell who was who. Only to be squirted off
by hose or a run thru the main creek.
There were hikes up the hills, snowball fights in the winter,
as well as snow forts and snow angels.

While in Rhode Island we had to modify our water wars.
East Coaster aren't too fond of such wildness. My kids
were thought to be rugged kids. They weren't use to
kids who threw water, slept out in forts, and all that good
stuff.

In Washington, we would go camping. We did it the old
fashion way. No tents, no campers and such. It was
sleeping bags near the creek and the fire pit. And I was
such a lousy fire starter. I had to have matches and lighter
fluid. And lots of paper...dry leaves and etc. One time I
forgot the matches, and my 8-9 year old son had to spin
the stick on another to get a fire going. The amazing thing
is he got it going and he was not a boy scout, just seen
it done on television.

Yep, the kids and I had a blast. I was a tough task master.
Chores and school work came first. But when we played,
we played hard. Be it water wars, snowmobiling, sledding
down the hill next to the house at midnight. With hot
chocolate waiting in the house. We had fun and I was in
the middle of it all. Guess that come from being raised
as a tomboy.

Did you do fun things with your kids? Besides travel,
and the commerical type?