Avery and I have been quite the outdoorsy-hikey people lately. Our latest adventure was a bit-too-long hike this morning with Christie & Henry and Amber & Josie. What we learned on this hike around Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, is that 3 miles is just too long for little legs. It's not so much too long for them to handle physically as much as emotionally. About a third of the way through, the requests for "uppy!" started from various group members. About half way through we realized we were only half way through. Just after half way through we had a toddler mutiny wherein the toddlers planted themselves in a circle on the ground and started to have non-hiking toddler fun such as throwing stones at nothing and kicking the ground. That's all well and good if you're at home where it's warm and there are toilets. It doesn't work when you're just over half way through a hike. The mutiny was thwarted by promise of boat-spotting upon the high seas of the Willamette River and the toddlers quickly dashed towards the bike trail. About three-fourths of the way through, one member of the group realized he (dang, that kind of gives it away, doesn't it?) needed to go potty. With no potties around, we attempted the old "pee in the great outdoors!" trick, even placing a makeshift potty below the barebottomed toddler while bicyclists whisked by wondering why one mother was holding a toddler with no pants on while another tried to place a hot chocolate cup under his bottom. Of course, when one toddler yells "potty!" all toddlers need to potty. Our trip almost came to a very wet demise, but we were saved by the Oaks Bottom Amusement Park Administration Offices, who kindly let all three toddlers use their facilities.You should see the other guy
At this point, it should have been smooth sailing back to the car. Only a short amount of the hike remained, toddler bladders were empty, Mommy patience reserves were renewed with the gratitude of potty-accident-avoidance, and it was still a gorgeous day. However, Avery - who up until this moment had shown very little interest in attempting to dress herself - decided it was the perfect opportunity to learn how to zip up her vest. She would accept no help and would not deviate from the task at hand. Exhausting.
At one point, a couple who'd passed us on the trail about ¼ of the way into our hike, passed us again at about ¾ of the way through and called us "loopers." I like that. We were fellow loopers. I felt a bond. I failed to get that guys number for future looper bonding activities, but I shall never forget him.
So, without further ado, I present to you my haiku in remembrance of this
adventure.
Fun, sun, toddlers run!
Loopers walking very far
Potty where art thou?
Yesterday, Avery and I met Christie & Henry to explore Crystal Springs Rhododendran Garden across from Reed College. We didn't stop to get duck food, so there was no feeding of the ducks, but the kids still had a great time screaming, "duck!" At one point, it looked as if Avery and Henry had devised some sort of duck capture plan, with Henry waiting in anticipation while Avery made her way around the back of two ducks. No need to worry for the ducks safety. Neither kid managed to get anywhere near grabbing a duck.
The entire visit provided ample opportunity for normal childhood injury, as well as potential falls in shallow water. There were wobbles and trips and a few iffy moments that made me jump. However, we made it through these many opportunities without so much as a skinned knee. So it was rather ironic that, as we were leaving the park, on solid, level ground, with no chasing or pushing, Avery trips and lands on her face and skidded forward a bit. I am trying to get her to answer, "You should see the other guy," in answer to those who ask what happened.
Now, some before and after shots. The before (aka the in focus and good pictures are courtesy of Christie ... I took the lame after shot).
Poles
On our dog walk yesterday, I decided to try it sans backpack. That was a mistake. It took us 1.5 hours to complete the walk. It was 4 when started and 5:30 when we got home. That's a big temperature difference, so I was very cold and pretty cranky by the time we made it home. The poor dogs bore the brunt of my frustration. I couldn't very well yell at Avery, so if they so much as looked at me wrong I yelled at them. And that was so not fair since they were being so very good. So patient, not pulling, and generally just great dogs. Ah well.Park Playdate
Avery likes to grab sticks on the trail and carry them through our walk in the cemetery. At one point, I noticed she was leaning over using two sticks as if they were walking poles. I asked what she was doing and she said, "These are my poles." Cute.
After I post this, we're heading over to a neighbors and then heading down to the park to play. I met the neighbors on a walk last week. Unlike most neighbors around here - who are usually very nice, but don't show much interest in anything other than exchanging niceties - the mother and father both seemed eager to chat. Turns out they have a 2yo daughter, too, so I said I'd leave my contact information in their mailbox. So, this is our first playdate with them.
With an earlier start time and fewer miles we're bound to have our next hike be all the more successful. Of course, it'll be unfair to compare the two because the next one will undoubtedly end with brunch, and brunch trumps all else.
ReplyDeleteYou had me laughing there with your description of the hike. Great invention, blogs. Although I know we did a lot of things when you and C were growing up, I cannot remember many of them, especially when you were Avery's age.
ReplyDeleteOkay, first off... what is that picture of a couple in bed next to Avery??? Second, I love love love the line "halfway through the hike we realized we were only halfway through." And third, I apparently did not pay enough attention in school because I swear I thought haikus were 4 lines long. Sigh... I better come up with another one.
ReplyDelete@Amber - Funny, I thought about explaining what that was, but was in a rush. It's the box for a Symphony Pillow from Tempur-Pedic. It really smells, so I have it in my office to figure out what to do about the smell (emailing the company, etc).
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I know what a haiku is precisely (meaning, I always knew it was a poem, but couldn't have told you it was a 5-7-5 syllable poem) is because I recently bought Avery a Haiku book, so it was fresh in my mind.