Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Season of Mud

It's almost spring, but here in the PNW, it's the season of mud. And my boys love it. They are outside every moment possible.

Dino-opolis' humble beginnings... "The Cone Age"

They have created an alternate universe in the back corner of the back yard (formerly known as "The Black Forest", because it was so dark back there). Now it's "Dino-opolis." Their world is inhabited by numerous plastic dinosaurs. They drive little plastic cars. And they have houses, farms, roads, rivers, and even their own economy. The currency is moss, which we have in abundance. They also favor "jewel pets". I have no idea where this fascination with those squished looking decorative marbles comes from, but they are all over Dino-opolis. The boys have "re-purposed" all kinds of random junk items to adorn their Dino city. Actually, cities. Mayor Jack Dino presides over Dino-opolis, and nearby Delta ("the market city, Mom,") is administered by (see if you get the joke) Mayor "Dino Rosie".

I think this is Mayor Jack Dino.

I'm happy that they love to be outside. I'm happy that they're incredibly creative. I'm happy that our yard is a magnet for neighborhood kids (especially given that we don't have a Wii, a Nintendo, or an X-box, or whatever the next newer thing is...) I'm happy that they will even write stories about Dino-opolis. In fact, they pestered me into letting them start their own blog about Dino-opolis! I could link it, if anyone is interested, but if you're over the age of 12 or 13 and your chromosomes match, you may find it... well... less than scintillating reading :0)


But, what I'm not so happy about (beyond the fact that my back yard looks like pure trailer trash) is the MUD. Boys are mud magnets!

Is it so hard to wipe your feet before you come in the door? I have a boot scraper and two door mats! I'm trying to make this easy! But they will dash into the house and run into the bathroom when they want to wash the mud off their hands! That's what the hose is for! Well, my bathroom sink isn't draining so well, and the mudroom floor is above and beyond living up to its name...

Aarrrgh! It's Mudville here!

So, in other news...


After being healthy all winter (hallelujah!) a few of us have colds. Well, that would especially be me. I'm thankful I DON'T have strep throat (that surgery was worthwhile), but I've been,
"talk-ig lige this and go-ig to bed early, buh-cuz I hab a code."

Of course, Wyatt and Tate BOTH got their head-gear on Monday, and have been trying to adapt to sleeping with it. Which means that for the last two nights I have been awakened - no kidding - every two hours. Yes. Every. Two. Hours.

And if I think of anything else to whine about, you'll be the first to know.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a fun post to read! 9 times out of 10, your posts make me smile... (shows with hands)... THIS... BIG. :-)

If you want to share the boys' blog with me, I'd love to read it. I'm sure I'll grin just as big. You've got my email?

I can relate to the mud in a small way. We have 4 dogs, and it's very hard to get them to wipe their feet. We have had some rainy weather lately - oh JOY!

Hugs from the East coast.

The Squirrel said...

Mud, dinosaurs, what's not to like?

It's a guy thing, ok?

Have you let the guys explore all the dinosaur stuff over at Answers in Genesis?

The Squirrel

Who's chromosomes do not match at all :-)

Herding Grasshoppers said...

I haven't poked around their website much, but we use some of their materials in homeschooling :0)

Great resource; thanks.

The dB family said...

Funny, mine won't go outside much. Bub is working at a greenhouse this week and I guess my girls are very girly girls. The mud holds no attraction.

The boys' Dinopolis is awesome!! I love it when kids get creative like that. Not having the video toys is a good thing!

leah said...

I love Dinopolis! I think it is totally wonderful that they don't have a wii or other gadgets that are just time-killers (and mind-killers). Playing out in the yard and mud is going to turn those boys into great novelists. Or artists. Or thinkers. Goodness, they're already great thinkers!

Herding Grasshoppers said...

I try... I try...

I'd rather put up with the mud than have to monitor how long, how much, how often, which games, etc.