Between the trees...

When I sit at the kitchen table and sip coffee, I look out at a backyard full of trees.  But, the trees closest to the house are two crabapple trees.  They are a bit too bushy, and I'm not crazy about the way they look.  But, they are very much loved by my little boys.  Therefore, they are close to my heart.  

Often I tell the boys that they can go outside and play out back "between the trees."  This way, I can sit at the kitchen table, hold the baby, and watch them play.  They chase each other around the trees. They have climbed one of these trees to the point that the back branches of this particular tree lay almost flat.  They play football with each tree being an end zone.  They play soccer with each tree being a goal.  They even play baseball there "between the trees."  But, my favorite thing they play, they can only play this time of year ~ crabapple wars!  They split up in groups, pick apples, and throw them at one another!!!  It is wild fun to them!

I just sit at the window and take it all in...

the laughter... the strategy... my sweet boys hard at play...

One day I will sit at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a quiet house.  And, I will look out at those bushy trees and remember all the play that happened around them and in them.  Oh, how many one year olds have I chased around those trees??  How many circle 8's have we run around them??  How many handmade bird feeders have the boys hung on those trees??  We've strung up the branches with cranberries and hung peanut butter and bird seed covered pine cones on them. We've had picnic lunches in their shade and afternoon snacks under their low hanging branches.  They have been such a part of the boys' playtime.  And, it has brought me so much joy to watch the boys play and interact there between the trees ~ their little imaginations running wild!!

So many memories made between the trees...