Welcome to Pine Cove!

A few weeks ago, I was in California with Jonathan for about 5 days.  When I got back home late on a Sunday night, I was exhausted and didn’t unpack, do laundry, or anything.  The boys had school the next day, and I just needed to get my ducks in a row for the week.  I got the boys ready for bed, and then I was OUT.

Monday morning, after the boys were at school, I started to tackle the mess that occurs when mama is gone for a week.  The floors needed sweeping badly, but I couldn’t find my broom anywhere!  I called my husband (who is usually the broom thief) and asked him if he left it in the barn or somewhere outside.  He said, “I think the boys had it out in the woods.”

Out in the woods?  Why would you need a broom out in the woods?

He said that they worked on building a fort one whole day while I was gone and needed the broom. 

I was still confused, so I decided to go investigate.

Sure enough….

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I stumbled upon my boys’ creation….Pine Cove.

It was one of the most precious sites I have ever seen!  My precious boys’ imagination and ingenuity at its best!  

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They cut down and cleared out a path to their pine-tree-teepee and lined the pathway with rocks and pinecones (which explains the missing broom!) They also used four tiki torches I had recently bought for a party to light the way.  I didn’t get to see them lit at night, but my boys said it was AWESOME!

Right before I reached the opening to their campsite, I was greeted by a beautiful pine cone wreath (that they had made) hanging from a tree.  I had to laugh because they are their mother’s sons….DIY’ers at heart!

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I felt like a kid again myself as I saw leftovers of a marshmallow roast, wood for the fire pit, and sleeping bags in the teepee.  

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I grew up in a subdivision that was built in the middle of a wooded area which made for some of the best adventures ever!

My summers and weekends were filled with exploring the woods, catching crawdads in the creek, riding bikes, searching for buried Indian treasures, and building forts.  I was a tomboy for sure and did most of my adventures in my bare feet!  :)  There is nothing better than a child’s imagination and free spirit!

That’s why Pine Cove felt so special to me.  It brought me back to my childhood.

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I loved knowing that while I was gone, my boys were busy building Pine Cove.  Such a great use of time!  Eli showed me their campsite while I was taking pictures.  He was so proud of their handiwork.  

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I am cherishing these moments with my boys.  Before I know it, they will be grown and busy building a family instead of teepees.   I’m going to miss dirty handprints on the shower curtains, bugs in my new tupperware containers (that they cut holes in the top of!,) crumbs under the table, loads of dirty laundry, and fun creations like Pine Cove. 

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Thank you, Lord, for moments like these!

p.s.  Here is a live periscope video of me trying to find my broom in Pine Cove.  

p.s.s  I finally found my broom hanging in a tree.

12 Comments

  1. WOW! How awesome that boys will do something like this, especially clearing the path and making a wreath! How did they get the pine limbs to stay upright? Definitely, precious memories and photos for you. God bless!

  2. I’m so impressed and happy to see your boys playing out in nature and being so creative. They are future engineers and architects.Today too many children are indoors on games or computers and they are missing out on real childhood life. You and your husband are bringing them up well. This post brings me back to my childhood also. We lived in a great neighborhood with lots of children and we built a tree house and fort all the children played in for years. Those were good old days…

  3. Such creativity!
    I had to laugh because my boys swiped my broom so many times to assist in their “wasp hunting” adventures, that I finally found them their own brooms at a garage sale!

  4. wow I am just speechless with wonder for your precious reaction and the pleasurable memories for your family…..

  5. This story almost made me cry. I’m an inside person as an adult but I loved the outdoors as a child, but didn’t ever do anything like build a fort in the woods. Maybe when my two grandsons get older (Jude is 14 months and Nicholas is due Oct. 8th), they will do something like this.

  6. What a cute DIY corner your little explorers created. Seems to be very cozy with the fire place and the lights on in the dark. Wanna have marshmallows,too :)
    Your backyard is really huge and so nice with the vegee bed and the chickens just the thing for grow up for the boys.

  7. Ahhh….I love this post & video so MUCH! I raised two girls and now have a grandson. They are just so entertaining, busy, and interesting. You are a good Mama.
    Blessings,
    GG

  8. Just adorable!!!! I’m sure they already know about poison ivy. Looked like I saw some in the first picture. Remember, if its three, leave it be. Don’t want something like that to ruin their fun.

    1. Ha, yes, Suzi! They have gotten into some poison ivy. Luke is receiving from some. :) Thankfully, they do not get it often, but it’s a pain when they do.

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