Rocks

Landen has a new hobby--collecting rocks. It started last fall when he found some neat rocks with fossils. Ever since the snow has melted, every rock he finds outside is a potential prized possession.
Landen stuffs his coat pocket full of rocks on every outing. I frequently pick up his coat from the entry floor and find it surprisingly heavy with the weight of his newest finds. I don't know how he can stand to play outside with a coat that is that heavy! A few days ago, I found a rock in the dryer. He had stuffed a few into his jeans pockets and had gone unnoticed when I sorted laundry and transferred it to the dryer. Right now there is a small paper bag in our garage labeled "Landen's rocks" from his grandparents' house this past weekend.
Most of the time I just throw the rocks back into the landscaping if they don't look particularly interesting (and Landen is not with me). So far he hasn't caught on to my sneaky behavior.
Going on walks with Landen is nearly impossible since I prefer to speed walk behind the stroller and her prefers to treat each walk as a carefully executed treasure hunt. Since we live in the country, there is no safe route. Every road is graveled with millions and millions of rocks.
Landen started with a shoebox, but that is quickly becoming too small. He has requested a larger box, but I think his Dad has a better plan--creating a pretty pile of rocks outside.
As far as collecting things goes, I suppose rocks are one of the best things to collect. After all, they are free and, like I said, everywhere. I just hope he keeps his enthusiasm for rock collecting for someday when he needs to help pick rocks in the field!