A moment of bravery

I don't usually take the kids outside at our house when I'm by myself. There are lots of reasons. One, I'm outnumbered and can't catch all three of them simultaneously. Two, there are lots of things to watch for that are out of my control (coyotes, the neighbor's mean dogs that run around on our property, snakes, etc.). Three, my children already suffer from a severe case of selective hearing, and it gets a lot worse when we're outdoors and they're running amok. We don't have a fenced yard, and it's more than five acres of trees, rocks, thorns, creepy crawlies, and whatever else you find in the boonies.

I had a moment of bravery yesterday and decided to let them go outside to play in the little inflatable pool we found at a garage sale. The yard dudes came the other day, so the grass is nice and short, so I figured it would be a good time to go out. 

Anyway, I inflated this pool all by myself. I don't do drugs, but I have a feeling I know what it would be like to be super doped-up after I completely winded myself trying to get the pool filled with air. I had a little trouble walking without passing out. Fun times.

We filled up the pool, and the three monkeys had a blast jumping around and getting all kinds of dirt, sticks, and leaves in the water. It was a lot better than watching them trash the house!