Big Imaginations

This is a picture of my boys playing with an old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sewer that was Jacob's as a child.  The boys are very imaginative and love creative play--I enjoy watching them as they create and play in their little worlds.  I wanted to share some of this with you all!
We have been indoors a little more than we would like these days.  Most days I try to take the boys outside to play at least once a day.  We will go to one of our favorite parks, play in the sand box, draw on the patio with chalk, play a sport, play in the water, or the boys will ride their riding toys down the hill.  The grass was so tall that it looked like a jungle outside.  We tried to go to the park a couple of times a week so the boys could run and play, but on the days we didn't make it to the park the boys spent a lot of time playing in their play room.  Yesterday they pulled out the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sewer toy (it was Jacob's when he was a little boy).  I helped them put it together and they sat in the play room for a couple of hours playing with it--putting action figures inside, on the roof, fighting, guarding.  It was funny just watching them play. I love watching them get caught up in these imaginary worlds they create for their toys.  They have a big farm play set (barn, tractor, animals, etc.) that they play with a lot, too--the pigs fly and the horse talks--they are very creative boys and I love seeing what they create.  The fun thing about the sewer is that it isn't just reserved for  the Ninja turtles, although they are there, too--but all of the action figures from comic books, Ben 10, Star Wars, and movies are all included in this sewer (or "house" as the boys call it).
We clean out the play room from time to time, bagging up toys and giving them away, but the action figures are rarely touched.  They are "the" sacred toys in the play room.  The boys have a lot of toys they play with but the action figures are always included--the boys even sleep with them!  They are loved.  I enjoy summer afternoons at home when the boys are playing nicely in the playroom.  It reminds me of my childhood--I remember many summer afternoons spent in my room playing newspaper or school.  I would compromise with my brother and he would drive his G.I. Joes around in my Barbie car and I'd drive my Barbie's around in his trucks.  We had fun playing together and I enjoy seeing my boys playing so well together. 

The grass was mowed yesterday so we can venture outside again--we have our yard back!  I am glad to see it mowed and glad my boys can go outside to play in grass that doesn't go up to their hips!  It's always good to have an active imagination, though--you never know when you're going to be stuck inside for a couple of hours on a summer afternoon!!