We went on an adventure today. After lunch my husband and I decided to take the children down to the creek behind our house. You've been to our house you say? And you're pretty sure you didn't see a creek in the back? You're right. You can't see it at all, but it's there.
During the stark winter months on the rare occasion in which it snows, we can see the creek through the bare tree branches. We know it's there, because it's the only thing down the steep hill that's not covered in white, icy snow. It's hard to see because it's hard to get to, even for adults with a machete.
Conveniently enough, my husband has a machete. I got our racheting clippers and we told the children to follow us carefully. We made it down the precariously steep back yard by way of hacking and cutting and got to the old silt fence that's been there since the neighborhood was cleared. That fence has held up a lot of dirt and rocks and is still doing a very good job, years after it was installed.
We lifted the children down past the silt fence, which leads into a canopy of trees. From there we could see the creek straight ahead. My son and daughter were excited. There were rocks. There was water. And there was a lot of dirt. We checked out the old trees that had fallen into or across the stream and then we decided to take a small hike, adding to the adventuresome nature of this toddler experience.
Our friends (specifically my running buddy neighbor) is about ten houses away, along that hidden creek which meandering behind the three roads up above on which those ten houses reside. Where we were, at the flood plane level, it was easy to walk. We had heard there was a zip line some of the neighborhood children had put up. I wanted to do some zipping over the water.
We made it eventually, doing the whole adventure at the breakneck speed of inquisitive toddler stroll. And yes, there was a zip line. There was also a makeshift tree house or fort made from some of the construction wood left around. I zipped. It was fun. My husband read the information on the zip part of the zip line and discovered it was adult-weight rated so he zipped too. My children wanted to do some zipping, but it was over some rocks and a cold stream so we told them they weren't old enough—maybe in a few years.
We decided to exit the creek area through my friend's yard and walk home on the sidewalk. As we're going up the last wooded hill, my daughter says to me, "I pooped in my pants." She hasn't done that in a long time, but what could I do. I told her we'd be home soon. That was doodie number one.
We came into their back yard and out into the sun again. Our dog had been with us the whole time and was happily wet and dirty. We'd been gone for an hour...what does my dog do? She poops in their back yard. She had a whole hour to pick any spot in the woods and she waits until we get to my neighbor's yard to find a spot. That was doodie number two. I pick it up with my garden glove, throw it in the woods, and take my glove off for washing when I get home.
Then...I turn around to see my daughter taking her pants down in the middle of the yard. What is she doing? She tells me she needs to poop. What?! This is not the kind of friendly message I was hoping to give our neighbor as I don't think leaving human and animal solids in their grass is a good move.
It turns out my daughter had already gone in her pants, she just wanted to be rid of the mess. I told her she was going to have to wait until we got home.
We leave the yard and head back on the sidewalks. As we plod home, my son says, "That was fun. I want to do it again tomorrow."
The Big Boy Update: After lunch today at the mall my children were running around and having a good time burning energy. As we got near the exit, we decided to have a race to the door. My son got out first, making it to one of those huge concrete planters that's strategically placed in an entrance so a car can't drive into the doors. As my son was the first one out, he exclaimed, "I'm the winner. I get to have this plant." We told him if he could put it in the car, he could take it home. He tried. He decided to leave the unmoving planter there.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter went to the grocery store with me to get ingredients for dinner. She saw the store and was happy we'd arrived. The parking lot was full so I had to do a loop to find a good spot. When we turned around the grocery store went out of sight and my daughter cried out from the back seat, "oh no, the grocery store's gone!"
Fitness Update: I had my SI joint subluxated this morning when I went to the gym. It's at the top of your pelvis and in my case, was bothering me on the right side. It was bothering me mightily though. I rolled it out on my foam roller at home before going to the gym. I rolled it out during warm-up and took a break between things to roll it out again, hoping I'd be able to bend over without wanting to scream. My trainer had me stop five minutes early and roll it even more. That helped a little, but what fixed it was one massive adjustment at the chiropractor's office later in the morning. In about twenty minutes after he adjusted me, I felt totally fine.
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