Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Lake

I had a nice rock path on the side of the house. Nothing fancy, just a path with small stones that connected the driveway to the deck. I say had because as of last night, it's not a very nice rock path anymore.

The kids were playing outside while I was making dinner. They asked me if they could fill a bucket with water for the dam they were going to build. They build dams pretty frequently and it was hot out, so I said, "sure." Then they wanted more water to build a lake. (There's one section of the driveway that is lower than the rest and they like to make a lake there and then ride their bikes through it. Classy, I know.) More water was fine too. Then they asked if they could use the hose. No, they could not.

When I went outside to call the kids in for dinner, they weren't playing in the place where they usually build a dam. They weren't playing in the spot on the driveway where they usually build a lake. They were playing in the rock path. They dug a trench in the middle of the path and larger lake portion at one end. They filled it up with water and were sinking matchbox cars into it. (I'm pretty sure this act of engineering genius is proud parent moment #459 for me.)

I was shocked. The kids, however, were proud.

I made them fill in the hole and the trench. Do you know what happens when you dig up a once "nice" rock path? Underneath the layer of rocks is a layer of dirt. The dirt gets mixed up with the rocks. And do you know what happens when dirt gets mixed with water? It becomes mud. Lovely.

The kids wanted to tell their father about the lake they had made. I suggested it wasn't the best idea.

This morning I hosed down their shoes and then used the hose as best I could to clean up the rock path and make it nice once again. My theory is that if spray the rocks the water will wash the dirt back to the bottom. It does look better than it did last night but not as nice as it did yesterday morning. I may need to buy more rocks. But I'm sure you've already figured out how much fun it will be to shop for more of the same type of rocks. Or maybe I should give up and let the kids build their lake. I always wanted lakefront property.

11 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Lakefront Property...LOL!
They sure can find interesting ways to amuse themselves, can't they?
Blessings!

Momisodes said...

Oy. It's amazing the things they find to create! LOL at the "lakefront property." My guess is that can be a phase, and it may only be a temporary fix.

bernthis said...

go with the lakefront property. Zero effort on your part and just imagine the um...view?

Karen said...

Why on earth would you fill in what is probably a beautiful man made lake? You must be one of those lake purists who only like the naturally occurring ones. I have a little dog who likes to dig that I would be happy to ship out to you so your kids can have a little extra help with the lake excavation. Let me know if you are interested.

Michelle said...

Hey, that was pretty ingenious of them. I'm impressed. And think about how much they had to work together without fighting to get it done too, right? Orrrrr not.

betty said...

oh my gosh, this brought back memories of my son/his friends and things they did growing up even down to the Matchbox cars; hoping you get it back looking somewhat "normal" and that they find a new, safe place to build their next dam or lake

enjoy your weekend

betty

Heidi said...

I'm with bernthis. Go with the lakefront property.

Kids left to their own devices come up with the craziest things. My kids were given a playhouse from their grandparents and my daughter, the next day, dumped a pile of dirt on the brand new floor because, well, who knows why. Your kids at least came up with a pretty smart idea and carried it out. ;)

Thanks for coming by today!!

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh, kids. At least they were staying busy, right?

Cathy said...

LOL! i can completely relate to going along with "harmless" requests only to see how much damage was done!

Fire Hunt said...

My boys would so do that.

girlytwins said...

Send them my way. I want lakefront property too LOL.