We decided, to make Sundays a bit more special while we’re on lockdown, to have a picnic by the creek down the hill from our town. We built a small fire and roasted sausages and marshmallows, and then played in the creek with Simon’s kayak and a couple of boats the boys built. When everyone had their fill of the water, we went across the creek and did target practice with Simon’s air rifle, aiming toward a sand dune. We really enjoy having this safe, private place to be outside! It’s within walking distance of our house, and the water is shallow enough there is no danger even if a boat flips.
Miss Joy loves boat rides! I apologize for so many pictures, but I couldn’t decide which of these to leave out.
Mr. Sweetie and Mr. Imagination wading in the creek. That’s the Paparoa Mountains in the background.
Esther wanted the water drained out of the kayak before she got in. It took too long—she gave up waiting!
This is the boat Mr. Intellectual built. It’s nearly unsinkable, at least on this kind of water.
The willow trees near the creek were covered with these big aphids!
The trees were also swarming with bumblebees and wasps. I found out how hard it is to get a picture of an insect. Esther did better, though.
I tried out the kayak—fun!
These boys rocked the boat…
…and these two rode the waves from it!
When we went across to shoot the air rifle, Miss Joy discovered something new—sand! She was thrilled to have something new to investigate.
Simon really wanted me to try shooting. It turns out that I’m a pretty good aim when I can lean on something like this…but not when I have to hold the air rifle up myself!
Simon likes to give everyone a turn shooting.
The previous pictures were all from last week, when it was cloudy and cool. This week, it was sunny and warm. This was the view up the river as we walked down to the creek.
We pass this row of trees on our way up. It was such a beautiful day today!
Here are a few video clips I put together from our afternoon at the creek.