Not so secret garden.

Not everything went wrong when we went away at Easter time and lost the dog.

The best thing was all the outdoor playing the girls got to do. Nothing was organised, there are no toys in the yard, there were just five children and a very big garden with a vacant block on one side and a tree lined creek on the other.

This garden has heaps of sections, they are not manicured by any means but they are a child's delight.

There is a fairy garden hidden under this huge big tree, providing treasures to find and rearrange.

Another tree hosts a hammock barely used so it's covered in leaves and bugs that is an oasis of critters to wriggle on your hands, things that fly away, cicada shells and god knows what else.

Then there was a dirt heap.

How much fun can kids have in a dirt heap?  Stacks. They start by running up and down it a hundred times, then dig in it, then slide down it, then push each other around, then have running races starting from the top so you get a good speed up before heading to the fence.

They may finish with shoes, socks and jocks filled with filth, but it is nothing that can't be washed out.

If you happen to be somewhere and see a dirt pile, let the kids go, grab yourself a cuppa and take a rest for half an hour, they will look after themselves.


Or, they will may use the new Gazebo in the yard as monkey bars.

Before heading over to the bonfire, once this died down we searched for very big sticks and toasted marshmallows.

Immy wasn't sure what to make of the bonfire, she kept saying it was too loud and hurting her ears.

And if all that outdoor play isn't enough, Granny has managed to place a few outside things on the inside too.

This post was inspired by Childhood 101 and Getting Outdoors Month if you are looking for things to do outside with your kids, head over and see what else people got up to.