Crocodile Creek

Every time we pass a small (and I mean SMALL) stream of water outside, Niall is obsessed with looking for the crocodile that obviously has to be lurking around somewhere in there.  Our new house butts up against Rock Creek Trail, which is great for running, but apparently also great for exploring and crocodile hunting. 

We discovered the best part of the creek a few weeks ago, with a little side trail leading down to a "beach" with plenty of room for them to run around... but I haven't had time to stop in the middle of my run and let them play down there. 

Every time we would run by it, I would promise myself (and the kids) that we would come back soon.  And so we finally did.

 

I think I wanted to go down there just as much as they did, because it reminded me so much of the places I would play when I was little.  My friend and I would wander off through the forests in our back yards until we didn't even know where we were anymore, looking for any secret fort or hidden stream that we could play in. 

It makes me sad to think my kids won't be able to do that because of the world we live in today.  But as long as they are still willing to play with boring old mom here, they will be able to explore places like this as much as they want.

'How do you know that's not sewage water?', you might be asking yourself right about now.  And to that, my answer would be "I don't."  When I told Matt that we were playing down there, he paused for a second and then muttered something about it being gross 20 years ago when he was playing down there... but hey, that's what baths are for, right?

We were mostly skipping stones and catching butterflies anyway.  It's not like they were swimming in it-- well, at least not past their knees :)

 

Niall was a good helper, showing Brendan how to find the best stones for skipping (well, umm, that's not really flat or circular, but great job!).

He is definitely a good throwing coach, though.

 

B listened carefully to all of Niall's tips and instructions, looking for his own skipping stones and chucking them into the stream.

 

Niall is also quite the insect whisperer.  Bugs of all kinds just seem to gravitate toward him (maybe the lack of insect repellent).  But I was especially impressed that he managed to lift one of these guys up without scaring him away.

 

I loved Niall's words of wisdom as we were walking along the edge of the creek: "Mom, if we see a crocodile in here.... we should probably get out."  Which was quickly followed up with the worst advice in history: "But if it's a gentle crocodile, we should stay and pet it."  Well said, my son.  He knows a gentle crocodile when he sees one :)

To many more adventures...