An Outdoors Family

Most every weekend when the weather was nice would find us outside. When our children were babies and toddlers we would take them to the local neighborhood park or drive to one of the Des Moines reservoirs and lay out a blanket on the grass and dump a box of toys in the middle. After a little parental encouragement they would usually understand that their boundaries were the blanket, and happily play away the afternoon. Sometimes they would fall asleep while playing, giving us a nice break for awhile. Once they had grown to full mobility the focus became more playground oriented. After that, at around age 6 or 7, we would explore the woods and streams around us (we always had a dog or two to tag along) and that led to road trips and camping, which we all loved. We would wade through streams, collect rocks, skip rocks, fish, hike trails. I usually tried to slip in a visit to a local landmark or museum, but the kids were always anxious to get back to the beach or their bikes. Our son went on to become an Eagle Scout and was a canoe guide for the Scouts in The Boundary Waters for several years. Our daughter and her family get out as often as possible and own both a camper and a boat. Shelly and I have really grown to enjoy the convenience of cabin camping…which reminds me it’s about time to plan our next getaway.