Fun in the Forest

One of the reasons we picked our home in Katy was the nice sized backyard with wrought iron fence that overlooks a small lake. It's not exactly what we were used to at our last house, but we have a vision of creating the perfect spot that our family can enjoy for years to come. Last month as a belated Christmas present, we added a gate to our backyard fence so that we could easily get to the lake for fishing and exploring.

Connor and Kaitlynn strike a pose in front of the new gate.

Past the gate, there are lots of areas to explore!

What we didn't count on when we bought the house was discovering a bonus in the form of a "forest." There is a patch of woods right behind our house, adjacent to the lake, that the kids love to visit and explore. Such a fun surprise and unexpected treat when living in a big city! Now when Connor has friends over, he always takes them to the forest and they have quite the adventures. Sometimes they pretend to play Survivorman (like the TV show) and so they make sure to bring their camping supplies and survival snacks, ha!

Connor and his buddy Reid about to explore the forest (you can see it in the background).

One day after returning from the forest with the kids, Jeff started telling me about a treehouse and a zipline that he discovered built into the large oak trees. I was quite intrigued, so recently I joined them all for some forest adventures to check it all out. Sure enough, there is a neat treehouse with steps built into one of the trees, and from the treehouse you can ride a zipline about 50-60 yards from one big tree to the next. Oh my goodness, so cool!! Someone spent a lot of time and energy building the zipline and making sure it's secure and safe. We have no idea who did it, but we sure are enjoying it!

Jeff and the kids in front of the big oak tree, treehouse, and start of the zipline.

The kids and even Jeff LOVE riding the zipline! It takes a lot of help from Dad to make sure the kids can get up there and ride safely, but it has become such a fun adventure!

This is how Connor reaches the zipline handlebars.

On your mark, get set...

There he goes! Weeeeee!

Here he is at the end of the zipline. You can see the lake in the background.

Kaitlynn's turn!

Ready...Set...

Go! She is SO good at hanging on tight!

But Jeff runs behind her, just in case!

And of course, Jeff has to take his turn too.

He starts from the top of the treehouse.

Weeeeeee!

He might be a tad heavier than the kids! ;-)

I took these videos of the kids riding the zipline yesterday. Who knew there would be so much adventure awaiting us right in our own backyard!