A bug hunting she will go

I can see it on my neighbors faces. They think I am absolutely freaking nuts to let my "girl" do this. Not even the little boys in our 'hood get away with this.... But the little girls aren't even allowed to play in our sandbox, let alone dig in the mud for bug friends. Some of the Neighbor dads will exclaim "That's GREAT! that you let her do that!!", but the Mom's are all nervous and twitchy, and lunge for their kids when they look to be thinking of digging in.

Kenzie is fascinated by bugs and nature, and I enjoy that very much. I do have some ground rules for hunts like this:
1. NO spiders
2. NO pretty clothing
3. NO touching Mama
And, that's pretty much it.



My neighbors are horrified, and it is awkward when other kids are around misunderstanding why I won't allow them to do the same. (their parents would kill me). I try to contain this kind of thing to when it's just us -- lonely in the yard, with bugs as our only playmates.



This was an especially good distraction yesterday, after our Cousins from "Cago" (Chicago) departed. We had a week-long visit with them which was especially wonderful for us, although we also weathered some challenges as well. Kenzie was absolutely heartbroken when their van drove away. Although she'd much rather play with the cousins, the bugs were a nice distraction from her longing for them...



P.S. Cousins, Aunt Wori & Uncle Don: We miss you!!