Rocks...Trees...More Rocks... :)

Today was a lovely day! Its been unseasonably warm here...no snow...just sunshine. After a relaxing morning Michael, Jacob, Phillip and I went out for a little hike around the bluffs behind our apartment complex. They found cool rock formations to climb...

And most of the time we were up there the three "guys" (as Jacob described it) threw rocks off the ledge (and at times it was more like hurling boulders, haha) trying to hit random things below. I got to sit in the lovely sunshine with no one to watch over, just enjoying myself. I think it was a great time for each of us! 
It was a good reminder for me of the kind of things the mother of a boy needs to remember. I am thankful that I don't think like a man - because I'm not one  :),  but sometimes its easy to forget that little boys have very different needs sometimes than little girls do. I don't think I would have even thought of taking Jacob up there just to throw rocks down a hill (another reason why every boy needs a good dad). At one point Michael and Phillip hiked away from where Jacob was playing in a dirt pile near me. When Jacob noticed they were gone, he got up quickly and started looking for them, telling me "Mom, I want to be with the guys...where are my guys, Mom?" He caught up to them and they went off on an adventure together.
You just have to let them sit there in the dirt for a while, because they really do love it. I think the best thing I found was how much it did for Jacob to have a safe place to just be a boy and not worry about hurting anything or anyone, making a mess and being away from the day to day. I let the guys have their fun for a while, but I did manage to get some pictures thanks to the full zoom on our camera :). We had a great time being with Phillip as well, Jacob loved playing with him and breaking big rocks...he has already asked me when he can go play on the rocks with Dad and Phillip.
It was one of the best times I have had outdoors in such a long time. I am also thankful even more now to be staying in our apartment for another year. We get to live in the middle of the city, but not feel like we are surrounded by it. Because of school schedules and geographical distance, we don't get many chances to just spend time with Phillip. It was wonderful to have that time together.