A Hike in the Woods

My parents visited a few weeks ago. We had such a good time with them here. My dad worked feverishly on our house. His work ethic is amazing. He finished painting Adalin's room, painted the molding in Kira's and did the chair rail job, all pretty much by himself.


We had some nice weather so we decided to go out to 1000 Hills State Park for a little stroll in the woods. Keep in mind that there had been quite a bit of snow on the ground a few days previously, which had, for the most part, melted. Melted Snow = Water, Water + Dirt = Mud. Yes, it was muddy, but oh so fun! By a few minutes into our hike, we didn't care so much that our shoes were slipping off our feet because they were suctioning themselves into the earth. We dressed for the occasion, hence Adalin's green rubber frog boots. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to get out in nature after a long winter in my house. There is something that the great outdoors does to my soul that only it can do. It was wonderful! The problem usually is just getting out and actually going. The dogs had the time of their lives. Jack, my parents' Black Lab had never been off lead before in his life, allowed to run freely through water and trees. The dogs ran for an hour straight, through mud inches deep and didn't even care.

The highlight of our hike, THE RIVER...
We came to a stream about 10 feet across. Adam grew up in Maine and crossed streams and rivers constantly as he played in the woods as a boy. This stream was no big feat in his eyes, though my parents and I looked at it like, "Well, I guess we should turn around now, eh?" City people. Adam walks across it while boasting of his water-proof hiking shoes... do we have those? No. He informs us that we will carry us across. Um, OK. Adalin first, no big deal. So he picks me up and carries me across. That was fun. Then came my mom's turn... she gets on big back, no she jumps on his back, he no doubt looses his balance. Then she successfully mounts, piggy back style and across they go. Half way across, Adam's foot breaks through the layer of ice that previously made the stream only a few inches deep, whose true depth was discovered to be 2 feet. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. My mom fell off his back into the river, catching herself with one arm, sprang up and ran the rest of the way across. My dad decided to jump it. Smart move. He made it.