the magic treehouse {catching up from October}

We came down here 3 or 4 times a week during the fall.  

You have to push a secret button to enter.

Then a huge door opens and you can enter our secret/magic treehouse.  It has a giant yard.  And a river.  And it's all ours.  For a little while at least.

We discover giant leaves (located in the 'w' tree)...

And happy moments of imaginary play.

There's a Civil War battle site in the center of this little wooded area.  They love the sandbags.  (Sand bags that I'm not certain were a part of a defense line in the Civil War?!)

Lila is always trying to keep up.

Fearlessly climbing and falling and shouting with glee.

They make discoveries as they dig into holes of rotting trees.  Sometimes using tree stumps to make soups or magic potions.

Low hanging tree branches turn into horses.  And baby sisters get a lift. 

All of which melts my heart.

I grew up in a wide open space with freedom to wander.  Townhouse living makes me feel claustrophobic.  We've learned to embrace these wondrous spaces that are short walks from our house.

I'm so very thankful for our 'magic treehouse'… my heart sours to see them fly free on rope swings, toss rocks into the Warwick River, or roll around in the grass soaking up sunshine.  And I almost don't mind when Audrey rolls around in duck poop and needs a bath when we arrive home.  Because I know she enjoys the freedom to roam and discover as much (or more) than we do.

  

We haven't come down here as much through the winter months.  Located along the river, it's really windy making it extra chilly.

Yesterday we wandered down here to fly kites.  

It was a short trip because we had a birthday party to attend.  But that magic button still worked.  It was still ever so heavenly to soak up the sunshine, roam around, poke at things, and watch kites float amongst the clouds.

There were even some tiny buds beginning to form on our 'horse' tree.