Too wet to weed

The boys are "supposed" to spend at least an hour a day weeding in the garden. (I have to put that in parenthesis because I'd be lying if I made you think that we are diligent about actually doing, and doing well, what we should be doing between the rows of tomatoes and squash. We're terrible vegetable gardeners--REALLY terrible.) Anyway, the weather has been great for the garden but it isn't too condusive for us non-hardy-soul-gardeners who really need some motivation to get out there. So, with all the rain that we had for three weeks the weeds went wild. The argument I kept getting was, "We can't weed the garden, it's raining." And I'm not too good about pushing my children to do something I would not want to (and don't) do myself.

Then, one day last week I looked out the bathroom window and saw this:


Too wet to weed? Hmmm.
It was warm and wet and there was no lightning--perfect kid weather...for playing.
I caved. I put a pair of shoes on Gabe and took him out for his first rainy-play-day. I grabbed an umbrella and my camera.

Shane was in the driveway working on his slam dunk.


Gabe was delighting in the rain and the sport and followed Shane's every move, complete with a squeal every time the ball went down through the net.


He was so sure he could put into action what he was seeing Shane do.



We heard voices coming from the backyard and went to see what was going on there. This was the next scene:

The rain was coming down in sheets--too wet to weed, but perfect for baseball.




The fun was contagious and Gabe grabbed a ball and joined in. He had to get the OK from Bryce to chase Owen down for the tag.



Somehow I cannot imagine the same look of pure delight on these boys' faces if they were crouched in a weedbed, even in the rain...especially in the rain.



Lisa didn't care about the ball games but she was having her own fun.


He probably won't admit it, but I have an inkling that part of the reason our gardening efforts are as weak as they are is because it makes Daddy so happy to see his family so happy; and gardening does not make them happy. Not planting, not weeding, not harvesting, not eating. We've definitely done something wrong here. (Maybe if we down-sized...) Whatever the case, he was thrilled to come home from work and find the rain warriors in the back yard.


Gabe's real fun came when he discovered this:





It was just a bit too much for Lisa!


But I think Gabe could have done it all day.





What they were trying to tell me, I think, is that there are lots of things a kid can do outside in the summer, even while sitting in the dirt; but, gardening just shouldn't be one of them!