OK, OK. We were really going to post more about this challenge of getting a little wildness into the 30 days of June. And then it was the end of the school year. And, well, writing blog posts just kind of went out the window. HOWEVER. I am happy to report that we have, in fact, managed to get a little wildness in for at least 14 of the past 15 days. Yay! What have we done in our 15 days so far, you ask? Here you go:

Day 1: Weeknight picnic (we started out well).

Day 2: Walk to preschool, noticing cracks in the sidewalk.

Day 3: Quick excursion to the creek to dip our feet in the water.

Day 4: Spent the day at Garin Regional Park, helping out at a race.

Day 5: Explored the Tibetan Buddhist temple garden near our house (which we had never visited before).

Day 6: On the request of the almost-4 year old, went back to the temple garden.

Day 7: Walked to preschool, admired flowers.

Day 8: Our ONE day of no Wild Time!

Day 9: Went to the park & introduced a friend to the creek! Saw tiny fish in the creek.

Days 10-12: Went camping at Bothe-Napa again.

Day 13: Walked to preschool, looked at the bees.

Day 14: Walked to preschool again.

Day 15: Walked home from preschool.

So you see, we’re not doing Big Deal Nature over here. No epic adventures (although Bothe-Napa was even better with the pool open!) and nothing during the week that involved more than 5 minutes of driving. I’m fairly shocked that we are already 15 days into June. I don’t feel more calm, nor do I notice a marked difference in anyone because of our commitment to Be Outside More. Are we failing 30 Days Wild? Well, I’m going with no, because what I have noticed is that sometimes the best part of MY day is the walk to school, because we’re just looking at what’s around us. We’re getting better at not being freaked out by the bees who live in the telephone pole on the way to school. We have certain yards that have cool things in them. We saw a roly poly bug the other day.

On the 30 Days Wild Facebook page, people are going All Out. Pinterest-worthy activities abound. Rocks are getting painted and beautiful pictures are being Instagrammed. And that’s cool. But it’s not what we’re doing over here. I’m looking forward to the next 15 days though, because I think it’s demonstrated to me that more outdoor time is possible– always. Walking to or from school takes about 20 minutes more than driving– sure, it’s a little more, but it’s not THAT much more.

We’ll continue on with our small-scale getting outside, but do let us know if YOU’VE been trying to get outside more– have you been any more wild the last 15 days? How’s it gone?

Find us on Facebook (Bay Area Families Outside), Twitter (@bafamilyoutside) or Instagram.