Rain + Mud+ "Bored"Kids = ...

...A lot of fun for them...Not so much for Mom!
Saw someone else has a post about kids and mud and it made me remember this little bit from my kids' past.
It was early Fall and we had had several days of soaking rain, so the ground was pretty soggy. My three youngest were at home and "bored" because they were 'stuck in the house'. About Mid-day the rain quit and the sun came out and they could stand it no longer. They decided they HAD to get out and do something.[I was probably wishing they WOULD find something to do because I was tired of hearing them moan and bemoan about the rain!]
They decided to play football!!!
I thought about it for a few seconds and decided it would be 'okay!' if they put on OLD clothes and shoes. [Not their good school clothes and shoes,as they might have done if I had not suggested they change!] So they found some 'old' stuff to wear and went outside to play.
Such Hilarity!! They tried just passing the ball back and forth but every time they ran they splashed water from the soggy ground. Next thing I knew they had invented some kind of game that required whoever caught the ball to slide merrily across the soggy muddy grass. Then it became a contest as to who could slide the farthest. They actually stayed out there for an hour or more and were absolutely covered in mud.
When they realized that it was getting late they wanted to come inside. THEN I thought: How are we going to accomplish THAT! I certainly don't want all of that mud going through the house!
I decided that they could come in at the garage, strip off everything, and leave it there.
Karen had to be the first while the boys waited outside during her 'turn' in the garage. I took an old towel to her to wrap her dripping muddy hair . Got her into the shower for a 'fast as you can' clean up. Then took the boys a couple of old blankets to wrap themselves in after they shed their clothes. After they were cleaned up [I think Karen had to wash her long hair once more to get all of the mud and grass bits out] I got the privilege of sorting out the soggy, muddy clothes! I think we threw the shoes away, and maybe the socks...but the rest went through the washer at least twice!
They had such a great time, though!!! It was something that was talked about with fondness for a long time! BTW the grass in the back yard was never the same! It took a couple of summers before we could no longer tell where they had played.