Adventures with kids

My friend, Everly, posted this fb status the other day…

“Dear Children’s Literature: you can have parents and adventures at the same time. ‪#‎enoughwiththeorphans‬”

I had to laugh, because she’s right. So many of the fun adventure books I read as a child were about orphans. Is it because it’s just more convenient to knock off the parents and have fewer key players in the story line? I don’t know, I don’t write fiction (yet), but I do know me and my brothers were guilty of the same action against adults in our pretend play as children. We never had parents!

Yet, Everly is right–you can have adventures and parents simultaneously. In fact, a lot of fun stuff couldn’t happen without the creativity, guidance, and protection of a present adult or two. Can I get an Amen?

And here’s some cute kid pictures to prove my point.

No way a not-yet-three-year-old is going to experience the fun of baking without some parental guidance. And seriously, can you tell me something that’s more fun than inserting chocolate chips into chocolate zucchini cupcakes???

Oh, wait–I thought of something that trumps that–riding a four wheeler with Daddy!!! Especially when he lets you steer.

We went mini golfing for Father’s day. The kids were totally psyched.

I tried to get a video of Seth’s golf technique–alas, my non-existent tech skills resulted in a video of the inside of my pocket, so I’ll have to describe it to you: he came to each hole, set his ball down at the edge, and tapped it in with his putter. Hole in One. Every. Single. Time.

We were just walking around a state park when we noticed this rather tame mamma dear and her brand new, spotty little fawn. The kids were enthralled.

Seth loves animals. He was so delighted that the mamma let them pet her.

Riding a miniature train at the park with Mamma. And then Daddy got them milk shakes at the end of the line. Parent’s rock!!!

 

OK, Mamma is a little weird, with her love of tipis. Every time she sees one, she gets all excited and babbles on and on about when she used to live in one, and makes her kids pose in the musty interior. (Talk about an adventure with parents–how about living in a tipi for over half a year?)

Oh, and then this. Playing in a creek bed. Totally a parent-supervised activity. Claire is in the very center with her blonde bob, Jesse is just to the right and behind, holding a big pink flotation device.

Yup, we’re having lots of kid-oriented fun this summer. How about you? And did you have a great adventure as a kid that wouldn’t have happened without your parents? Tell me about it!