Radical ideas and a trip to Jackson Lake.

We just returned from a trip to Jackson Hole, WY and Colter Bay (in Grand Teton National Park) with the Sorensons. We went on a Friday morning and drove home Tuesday night. It was a fun and much needed vacation. Ezra was in heaven the whole time we were there. Billions of rocks to throw, trees to point at, and water to splash in. Here are just a few pictures I have on my phone. I will post some more when I get my other pictures loaded to my MacBook. It was definitely a shock for him to get used to being outside all the time to coming home and being stuck inside again. He had so much excess energy today I thought I couldn't make it through the day without going crazy. He only slept for ten minutes during the day so hopefully he will get a good rest tonight.

Having your kids at home is never really easy. At his age he wants to either run around outside or sit inside and read books when he can't be outside. He won't play with any of his toys besides his basketball hoop and even then he wants me to be in the room. I walk out and he follows.

It makes me wonder what my ancestors went through with their kids at this age. Were there walls to ruin with markers? Televisions to ruin with baseball bats? Outlets to stick their little fingers into? Busy streets with cars driving on them? It seems there wouldn't be much to yell at your kids about, but I could be wrong. All of these modern day conveniences just don't seem to mesh well with youngsters. But I do know that Ezra has never been happier than when we were living in the mountains, in a simple cabin, with nothing that could really hurt him or anything he could really break. No busy streets to run out into, no TVs to turn on or off. Being out there just seemed so simple. It made me understand how our ancestors didn't really have much but were happy because of the simplicity, not in spite of it. They didn't need to buy their kids hundreds of toys, or movies, or anything really. The kids were perfectly happy with what they had. The rocks and the trees and the water were their toys. It occurred to me that maybe kids were made to live close to the outdoors. Were not intended to be smothered with all these modern, fun things that we buy for them these days. Maybe the best thing I can do for ez is let him enjoy the outdoors a little bit more instead of getting frustrated when he refuses to play with any of the toys I have bought for him. I know it seems a little crazy but seriously, it's how kids have lived since the beginning of earth. Sure they might have a few toys that someone made but I'm sure for the most part they just wanted to explore the world around them. With a constant stream of instant entertainment as the norm, it's no wonder so many more people have ADHD these days.

Like I said, I may be crazy. And I know I said a lot of stuff but it's all just kind of jumbled in my brain, but does anyone get what I'm trying to say?

Oh and yes, here are the pictures: :)




















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