dinosaur beach

i wanted to show you how one of our little friends has the most inventive preschool teacher who taught the kids to make their own fishing poles and use hot dogs as bait for crawdads....

but Lord help me if i can focus on anything other than how cute and round beans tummy is. all. the. time.  confession:  i secretly hold onto his smaller tshirts so i can see that belly poking out after dinner.  it's that cute.  i can't stop myself.  i digress.

sadly...hot dogs did not prove to be as alluring as we had hoped.  and in the time it took to make 9 fishing poles the excitement was over.  however, the most interesting question remained.  would it be ok to just snack on raw hot dogs since the crawdads weren't biting?  although we passed on the motherly wisdom, that NO! we shouldn't eat raw hot dogs...i saw each of them in their own sneaky ways test the theory.

 

after the mysteries of the creekbed and all it had to offer were solved (rocks, tadpoles, sand and dinosaur bones...omg i have no idea what that amazingly large leg bone was from or what caused it to be there...i shudder to think that the kids were carrying it around and wanted to claim it for their very own dinosaur bone...but they were so sure that it was from a dinosaur that none of the moms could argue differently!) we settled in for lunch and the construction of one very elaborate fairy house.  complete with a front door and hammock.

the kids fashioned an outdoor dining area with plates and napkins on the table and chairs all around.  they even propped up the table with sand so the plates wouldn't fall off.

and a special swing set sturdy enough for only the daintiest of woodland creatures.  i'm pretty sure more than one will find this beachy location a home away from home (read:  moms with books and some kid free time).