Muddin'

It started out easy enough. We'd taken the boys outside to water the pear trees Papa planted over the weekend. The boys behaved nicely: Lane holding the hose for James, and Evan following close behind paying attention to his big brother.

We moved to the backyard to water the hydrangea bush Papa relocated, and with both boys contained inside the fence I decided to head inside to check on our dinner.

It didn't take long to make sure the gravy was simmering nicely and the potatoes were at a good rolling boiling so I'm not sure how Papa let them slip out of his sight.

But he did.

And this is what I saw as I opened the back door.


I knew something good was happening by the sound of Lane's laughter and the fact that the two of them were so interested in the same task. So, I grabbed my camera.

I couldn't get a good view of Evan because I was coming from behind him. I saw his feet first.



Mud. I should have known it was going to be something messy.

By this point, the boys were knee, or should I say elbow, deep in the mess and having a blast.

Now some parents might have put an end to it instantly. Not us. James parked himself in the rocker on the back deck and I sat close by with my camera, and we let the boys have it.

As the old saying goes, boys will be boys.

I kept trying to get a good shot of Evan, who I knew must have been covered in mud, but every time he stood up his back was facing my direction or his overly excited brother blocked my view.






Then, there he was. In plain sight. My beautiful little Giggie - the boy who gets complimented on his good looks every single day - covered in mud.

And happier than I have ever seen him.


So, we left them to play as long as they wanted. Splashing mud. Stepping in mud. Slinging mud. Even tasting the mud. Evan, not Lane.








Eventually, little drops of rain started to fall from the sky, and Evan got a little too much mud in his mouth.

He decided he was ready to end this adventure and head inside.

Of course, we caught him before he made it up the back steps. Both boys were stripped naked and shuffled right to the shower.

Just one more reason why I love my boys.