The Case of the Muddy Footprint

I think I mentioned before that we do a lot with dirt. Me? I like to garden in it. But my kids, they just like to play in it.

We still have two large dirt piles sitting in front of the barn. The children have placed boards across the tops (from peak to peak). It has been the source of hours of enjoyment. I haven’t actually seen them walking on the boards, but I suspect it has been done.

I caught Hewitt out there the other day, covered in dirt from head to toe. I would have posted a picture of it – but I can’t. Why? Nudity. You see, Hewitt is potty training and he was butt naked. And covered in dirt from – from head to butt to toe 😉

What does a naked Hewitt have to do with muddy footprints? Not much, I just thought it was funny.

So anyway, our back door enters into the laundry room. I have put a bookcase right next to the back door. The children are supposed to keep all their shoes and boots on that shelf. They are also supposed to always wear their shoes or boots when going outside.

Now, I’ve been a mother long enough to know that what they are supposed to do is not necessarily what they always do. Sometimes it is easy to catch them. Like when a child has chocolate breath and chocolate all in their molars and denies having gotten into the chocolate chips 🙂 Other times it is not so easy.

But with the case of the muddy footprint, it was pretty obvious that someone was playing in the mud without their boots on. But the mystery of course is – which child? or was it multiple children? And why are there two muddy right foot prints – and no muddy left footprints? Were they wearing just one boot? Did they lose a foot? Did they place just one foot in the mud and keep the other on dry ground?