Fourth of July, Part 2

On Monday we went down to Turkey Creek for our final Fourth of July celebration.  Don't you just love when a holiday is at the tail end of a long weekend?  So many opportunities for parties!

Turkey Creek is the picnic spot Seth's parents have created way back behind some fields.  Like the name implies, there is indeed a creek, and turkeys can occasionally be spotted.  The creek borders the land on three sides, and a steep hill with timber lines the other.  There are huge old trees and lots of open space to play soccer, and a firepit for s'mores and hot dogs.

Before I joined Seth's family, I never really thought about the actual work that goes into providing opportunities for wholesome family fun.  I kind of thought it just happened.  I knew all about the emotional work of family, and nothing at all about the planning, cooking, mowing, pruning, digging work that goes into creating a space like this.  Because guess what?  If you don't sit down and think about building it, there won't be one to go to!  If you don't do the constant work of reclaiming the space from nature, improving the creek bed, building the sand pit, coming home with the water slide for the grandkids......then it won't be there.  This isn't exactly the job of mowing a 1/4 acre suburban yard.  And then all the meal planning, the cooking, the packing and unpacking the truck, remembering the can-opener and the candles, washing the quilts and the tablecloths, always having all the little special snacks each kid loves.... It has been, and continues to be, a huge amount of work for Seth's parents, and we are deeply grateful for grandparents who are always thinking about providing great opportunities for our kids to be kids.  The kids don't understand yet, but we do. 

All the kids run around, playing with the games and balls Grandma brings down, bug hunting and taking nature walks and raspberry picking, until an adult relents and is FINALLY ready to bring them in the creek.  Then they all race for the slide and spend the afternoon chasing bullfrogs and trying to catch minnows and waiting for their turn on the slide.  The creek is lined on both sides by tall trees whose branches meet in the middle to form a shady canopy.  It is fairly shallow most of the time, so even the two year olds can have lots of fun splashing around.

Next time I will take better pictures of Turkey Creek itself, but in the meantime, here are some final Fourth of July pictures from our day down there.

Click to enlarge!

Thank you Grandpa and Grandma, for all the years of memories.