Samantha's first blog

Posted By pamelamyers on April 7, 2012

Today was a pretty nice day so we went to Tyler to get Sam outside to run around.  All of the treehouses and “fairy” houses aren’t open yet, but most of them are.  The last time Sam got to explore the treehouses she was a little bit smaller and much more timid.  We were anxious to let her see what she could do.

This was the first house, which was sort of a (purposely) lop-sided construction full of bats, spiders, and gargoyles.  Sam loved it!  It was barely inside the park and we had a hard time getting Sam to leave so we could actually walk around.  She was fascinated by the fake bats (which she kept calling eagles) and wanted to touch everything.

We finally got her moving and she took off following me.  We just bought her this little backpack which she really liked.    She always wants to carry around a bunch of stuff with her and it is hard sometimes with no place to put everything.  Our girl has a bag fetish just like her mom and dad.

How cute is she?  I love the look on her face here, like she is just taking it all in.

Off we go!  Nature girl is on the move!

Our next real stop is the troll bridge.  She always wants to go over it but today she insisted she had to crawl instead of walk.  I have no idea why.  It is steep, but she has climbed much higher and steeper things.  She runs up my parents front lawn which is a monster!  It takes 12 steps to get from the sidewalk to the top of their hill and Sam goes up like she’s walking on flat ground.  I think she was just being silly.

We must have traversed that bridge a million times.  Every time she’d hit the down slope she wanted to hold someone’s hand.

Look at her jeans!  All that crawling certainly made a mess, but hey, it’s outside – what else can you do but get dirty!

This next part was new since the last time we went to Tyler.  A big circular tunnel was made out of what looks like bamboo and straw.  There were a few entrance and exit points, and in the center were tables and chairs made out of tree stumps.  We tried to get Sam to sit and the table but no go.  It would have made an adorable photo.  Oh well, next time maybe.  But here she is running through the tunnel.  I was so proud of her because just a few months ago she was so wary of going into things like that but now she loves it.  She goes in the tubes and the playground and had no trouble running through here.

Off we go again, into the woods.

This is Mark’s favorite photo.  Sam couldn’t resist poking her little face through the window of yet another new house.

And she also wanted to smooch mommy through the window!  I love her little puckered lips. She gives the best kisses.

We must have been at Tyler for over 2 hours and Sam walked the whole time.  No stroller for her!

One of Sam’s favorite things from the last trip to Tyler were these huge frogs.  There are quite a few and every single one had to get a hug and a kiss.

Our little fortune teller consulting her magic ball.

This house we don’t recall from last time either.  She just looks so in awe of it, doesn’t she? It was pretty cute, it kind of looked like a house made for a kid to live in.

We both thought these made pretty interesting photos, with Sam in the midst of all the ribbons.

Towards the end of our trip, Mark decided he really wanted to visit “our bench”.  We have taken pictures there before, at this bench way off in the middle of a trail going through a meadow.  He always says he wants to take regular photos of Sam there as she grows to show how she is growing up.  It was a pretty long walk, but Sam was up for it.  All she wanted to do was walk through one of the gates in the big deer fence so we kept promising her the gate was coming to keep her walking.

Here she is!  She made it!  She still looks so small compared to the last time we were there, but she is getting so much bigger.

She thought it was really funny pulling off Mark’s hat.  She then had to put it back on him.  This was the result. 🙂

Digging in her backpack looking for snacks.

We can’t wait to go back again soon to go exploring some more.  The rest of the treehouses will be open soon, the pond will be full of fish and frogs, and later this summer the butterfly house will open. Mark and I both want Sam to love nature, and she certainly seems to.  Living in the suburbs is much nicer than living in a city, but even in our little neck of the woods, it’s hard to find, well…woods.  It is good to escape to nature once and a while to remember that TV and computers don’t have to be an ever present part of our lives.  We really hope that Sam learns to appreciate that too.

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