Mill Creek with friends

School's Out!!  Doesn't that mean that the warm weather should be here now??  Not in the Northwest!  But a little cool weather doesn't stop us from having fun!  We wanted to make sure that we had fun with friends even during the summer, so we planned a playdate with two of G's friends, Logan and Jaiden, and we headed to a different creek!

The boys explored the water--even though it was cold!

Then they played on the bridge--even though it was cold.

Then they played in the tall grass, yep, even though it was cold!

Actually, they were looking for snakes.  Our family calls this creek "Snake Creek" when we had heard some friends of ours describe all the snakes they found in the grass.

Unfortunately, no snakes were captured today.  Maybe next time they'll have better luck.

Our other boys had fun too.  D gave me a pretty flower "For your hair, Mommy".  Sweetheart.

J was trying to figure out the net,

and then decided to play on a bench nearby.

I'm pretty sure we were all ready to leave when it was time to go.  Our friends, the Simpers, showed up after we had been there for a bit, so we got a fun parting shot of all the boys!

Good days!!

Snake creek

Will there never be an end of new creeks to explore? Let's hope not! As long as we have our blanket to sit on, a container to inspect what's been caught, and treats to keep hunger at bay, we can't wait to meet out next creek-filled adventure!

As is often the case, we headed out on this new adventure with our fellow explorers the Crunchers. They bring great support, enthusiasm, talent and treats! But before getting to the water, we needed to sample the local blackberries to gather strength.

This creek is much smaller than our regular stomping grounds, but don't let size fool you...there was much to catch in these shallow waters!

Our oldest son was back in his element! What an amazing 6 year old--I love him so much! As soon as we arrive he starts looking for all things that crawl, swim, jump or slither...and he finds them too! He especially loves having young grasshoppers to share his skills with!

After catching a few crawdads (alas, one tried to get away but did not go too far), a frog,


a fish and a few mosquito bites it was time to leave our new creek.

Until we spotted one more unsuspecting fish.

With that last fish captured all other creatures were released. I could almost hear a sigh of relief from our observation container as it was dumped back into the creek! I love spending these days with my boys! I am so glad I get to be their mom!