How much trouble can one get into in a completely fenced-in backyard?

Oh the adventures in a backyard. My kids just LOVE being outside, which is great. We have a decent sized yard, and the biggest bonus is that it is completely fenced, so my houdini like second born can roam to his heart's content without me worrying about him coming nose to nose with vehicular traffic. One of the most stressful things for me now that I have two kiddos is trying to keep an eye on both of them when we are out at the public park near our home. It wouldn't be so bad if they decided to stay within the confines of a play area, but no, there is much too much exploring to do in the huge adjoining forest and busy bus route. So we have been spending an obscene amount of time within the confines of our backyard. Which is fine by me.

During the summer, when it is warm and we get alot of sun, I like to do my part for the environment by hanging out my laundry (because god only knows that driving my "holy shit it cost me $80 to fill the tank" vehicle sure as hell isn't doing it!). The other day I decided to wash the kids security blankets, and when they discovered them on the line drying out, it was like they hit the jackpot in Vegas. Toys were abandoned and they stood, under their blankets, giving every ounce of love to the wet soggy pieces of material that I have ever seen. Ethan still sucks his fingers, and Nicholas expresses his love by chewing the living shit out of his blanket (and moaning in the process). They stood like this for ages.



So after the boys decided to abandon their blankets, they went in search of mischief. Nicholas is the ringleader in any kind of trouble making, but Ethan is quite happy to follow along. Even though I thought there wasn't too much for them to get into, Nicholas did manage to briefly scare the shit out of Ken and I. We have a shed in the backyard, and recently Ken built a "fence" - actually, it was only two planks wide, but it had to be done to keep Nicholas out of the back of the shed. There was a bit of room at the bottom, not enough (so we thought) for anyone to get under. Well, Nicholas, bound and determined as he is, slid on his belly and pushed himself under the fence. We didn't see him do it, but we did hear Ethan giggling and pointing in the direction of the shed. I am surprised that he didn't try to join Nicholas, but maybe, just maybe, he wanted to see his younger brother get in shit for once. Ken freaked out, I grabbed my camera (yeah, I am a really concerned parent!)



Just as Ken was going to grab something to pull the fence apart, Nicholas decided he had enough and wanted out. You can imagine the dirty mess he was by the time he squeezed his skinny butt outta there.