We're about a month away now from our anniversary of living here on the farm. That means that we've been living inside our little trailer together as a family of five for that long. Sure, there are times when things feel pretty tight, and we fantasize about how great it's going to be when we get the house built. But, in fair (and really even not-so-fair) weather, the entire farm is the kids' play area, and we certainly don't feel cramped outside at all.

I have pretty much zero tolerance for boredom. These kids are blessed to be surrounded by an entire farm's-worth of adventures to be had and fun to be made. Luckily, our kids are pretty creative, so the boredom issue doesn't arise much. Above, they've constructed an obstacle course in the barn for the four turtles they've collected.

The kids don't play with traditional toys much, but when folks are looking for birthday/Christmas gift ideas for the kids, we try to steer them toward toys and tools for outdoor play. I found these walkie-talkies on top of the hay bales the other day -- evidence of one of their top-secret missions.

And, of course, the entire farm is their Nerf war zone. So, little darts like this can be found pretty much everywhere.

Living on the farm, even the most simple things can become favorite toys. I kept having to get on to Boy for running off with all my barn buckets. I'd get ready to haul some water and not be able to find a single bucket to haul it in. For his birthday, we got him this blue bucket to be all his own. He can use it and leave it wherever he'd like. Oh, the countless hours of fun he's had hauling water and mud and carving out tunnels and building dams! This $5 bucket has been one of his favorite birthday presents.

Kids learn so much outside. And, our current cramped living situation has encouraged the kids to play outside even more. I love seeing their creativity, hearing about their adventures, and watching them interact with each other in the great outdoors. Now, we are looking forward to school being out so that we can stay up later and make the most of these extended hours of daylight!