SNAKES AND CAVES AND OTHER OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

I do so love to get the kids out into nature, into the woods and water, to get them away from the intensity of video games. To explore
So yesterday, I called up my sister and said, “Hey, let’s drive to the Columbia River Gorge, one of the most beautiful spots on earth, and take the kids hiking.” My twins kept asking before we left, “Can we have our DS’s because we have to show Mitchell and Erik something,” and I had to remain strong and say “No.” Besides, my daughter had them hidden and she is no-nonsense.
The twins survived without their neon devices as we drove the hour to the water fall, where we were meeting my sister for the 2-mile round trip hike to this water fall. Once out of the car, the kids were running ahead of us on the trail and splashing in the creek, and Ryan, 15, spotted a snake, and let his brothers Micki, 9, and Augustin, 4, hold it, then Ryan discovered an even bigger snake, and we took photographs, and it was sheer joy listening to them squeal in delight. Then, we found they found a cave and the kids went exploring through it, to see how far they could get; they later found large boulders to climb and rocks to throw into the creek. It felt so great, and all the way home they talked about the snakes and the creek and climbing the rocks.