Rivers

We have been swimming in rivers this week in an attempt to keep cool in the heat.  On Tuesday we made hot air balloons at a friends house but we struggled to get them aloft either because the paper we used was too thick and made the balloon too heavy or because the air temperature was so high it was not that different to the air in the balloon and it therefore was not rising.  To cool down from trying to fill the balloons by standing over a heat source, in already high temperatures,  we headed to a nearby river to cool down.  It was a great place to splash about, swim and generally cool down.

Today we have spent most of the day by the river, a different one to where we swam earlier in the week.  We had a long walk in from the car, 3km, but it is worth it.  We were joining one of our home ed groups so there were lots of adults and children about.  We were so hot from walking in the sun that the first thing we did was change and get in to cool down!  We spent the day in and out of the water, it was chilly so if you stayed in for any length of time you needed to get out to warm up before heading back in to cool down.  It was a great spot, you could swim, paddle or sit in the water depending on your preference.  I took a couple of fishing nets with us which were played with all day by various children, they used an empty lunch box of ours to empty their nets into to see what they had caught.  There were lots of fish and a few tadpoles amongst their catches.  We headed home tired and happy and could have stayed and played for several more hours but our tummies needed more food which we did not have.

I remember going river swimming with my parents and grandparents as a child, when the summers were really hot.  My youngest especially was in the water for most of the time we were there she fell asleep in the car on the way home and took herself off to bed when we arrived home, declaring she was too tired to eat.    I do hope that this weather continue so that we can have more days like today.

There are no photos accompanying this post as I failed to take my camera with me.  However even if I had I would not be posting them.  I have chosen not to post pictures of my children on my blog and I would not have had any pictures without children in them as they were in the water and all over the riverbank the whole time we were there.  I am also not sure I would have thought to get my camera out, we were all having such a wonderful time that it would have taken away the magic of the moment for me rushing to get my camera.  I have wonderful memories of today and that is enough for me.

Joining in with Friday's Nature Table over at The Magic Onions.