Sometimes getting away from the normal day to day activities and spending time in nature can do wonders for your soul. Yesterday morning Sophia’s babysitting job for the day was cancelled and we took advantage of the extra time by heading out to Matthiessen State Park for the afternoon.

I think we must feel drawn to nature because of the many gifts it gives back to us by just spending a little time with it. Below are some gifts we received yesterday from an afternoon spent with nature.

It allowed us to stop and breathe in the beauty of our surroundings.  It also allowed the kids time to question so much about nature.  The day was full of questions of “why?” and “how?”  I wish I was full of all the answers as they ask them because they are never as much fun to go research later.

It brought out a physical, kid like, behavior in all of us.


Our border collie Izzy challenged me to a run down these stairs.

Mmm…..a mud bath.

Sophia and her love of tree trunks.

Sophia has always needed to go just a little further, never wanting to miss anything.



Izzy thought we should explore each and every path.  How could I resist? Is there anything more fun than jumping from rock to rock?  Exploring…..the ultimate fun of being a kid or even letting yourself be a kid again. At first you try to keep those shoes dry, but finally the water is just too hard to resist. Using muscles and flexibility for no other reason than it is fun! And it gives us quiet time to talk and share with our family.  One thing we didn’t expect yesterday was the mosquitoes. We actually left a little earlier than planned because we were so uncomfortable. But, I guess that is nature too, right?