The Notorious Mr. and Mrs. Barn

When I look at this picture, I will forever be reminded of the time we tramped around in the woods for almost two hours, climbing over trees, climbing under trees, dodging branches and scaling hills — all the while, outrunning the notorious Mr. and Mrs. Barn. Or Bahn. Jury’s still out on the official pronunciation. 

You may be confused. Let me back up. 

I walk in the woods almost daily. It brings me a sense of calm and peace that I haven’t found anywhere else. I’m almost always by myself, which I love, but I also have a constant simmering desire to let the kiddos run free in the woods with only their imagination to guide them. So, yesterday when I looked at the weather forecast and saw that it was probably one of the last warm-ish days, I decided it was a perfect day for adventure. 

I texted Scott and asked him to be home early. The three of us waited at the bus stop and headed for the woods as soon as the girls arrived. 

As we began our adventure, the kids decided that we should pretend to be lost in the woods, on the run from an evil couple — Mr. and Mrs. Barn. Grace, who declared herself the “main character” (naturally) was in and out of a British accent, so no one was sure if it was “Barn” or “Bahn.”  

We’d pretend to see signs of them or hear noises in the woods. Once, a helicopter flew overhead and we all hid under the branches of a tall bush. Even Scott played along with us! But mostly he was avoiding being slapped in the face by branches. Claire would every once in awhile take Henry to the side and explain that it was all pretend, so he wouldn’t really think we were being chased by a couple of villains. And Henry, who had his binoculars, kept spotting Paw Patrol pups in the trees. “Look!! There’s Chase!” 

Of course, once we found our way out of the woods and the story died down, there was MUCH complaining about how long it was going to take to get to the car. But I was too pumped from the memories we just made to care too much about the whining and falling to the ground in faux exhaustion. 

It was quite the adventure and exactly what this family needed before we hibernate for the winter.