Revisiting the River

And while I’m talking about the river.

(DuPont State Forest – in the mountains of North Carolina.   Worth the drive.)

Here’s what we like about rivers, streams, creeks and flowing water in general.

Wilder’s first ever experience walking in a stream.

He liked it.  He showed no fear.

And he showed no concept of slick rocks and quick moving water, either.

(That’s my boy!  Here we go, son.  Round Two for the Keigleys I guess.)

Sticking the Nalgene bottle in the stream to keep it cool.

Country refrigeration.

(And this bottle glows in the dark.   Which makes it even cooler.  Bergen believes that having the bottle sit in the sunshine charges it.)

Choosing a rock to take home to our own house.

On outdoor adventures and vacations we often let the kids pick one rock to take home to keep as a souvenir.

Hey, it’s free.  And I like our growing river rock collection.  (This year we are putting them around the blueberry bushes.)

The rock pictured above is actually Piper’s choice.  The other kids chose much larger ones.

The only rule is – you have to carry it yourself.

Getting the full use of our Keens.

I should be a spokesperson for these shoes.

I just should.

I love them that much.

They are the only summer shoes I bought this year.  Because you can wear them all the time, with everything, wherever you are.  In water or on land.

They don’t fall off like flip flops.  They don’t require socks like sneakers.

And there are no shoelaces to tie (or to have come untied).

And, best yet,  every kid can put them on without assistance.

Playing without needing a battery or an outlet or even a toy.

The Keiglets have a favorite go-to game.

They call it by its most basic name.

Dogs.

And in this game they pretend to be . . . . dogs.

They play this game all the time.

Everywhere we go.

On this particular day the dogs had to travel to Grandma’s house – also known as that rock you see in the stream.

They even have specific go-to dog names.

Mosely alternates between Sarah, Rosa or Little Rose.  London is Pepper. Bergen is Salt.  Piper is Bottle Cap.

Helping Bergen maintain his high profile hair do.

Now that Hawkeye has accepted his mohawk with pride (for today, at least) he is always willing to let someone keep it spiked.

And the girls are always willing to play Hair Salon and use whatever products are at hand.

Such as stream water.

What do you and your family like to do with water?