We had another unplanned Saturday this past weekend, so we took it off leash and dragged the kids on some excellent dog adventures. We did some things we haven't done since we had babies.
Saturday, after an adventure through the dollar store to fill shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child - and it is an adventure to contain the enthusiasm of little children to one shoebox each - we dragged them on a hike through the woods. We decided to follow the creek from our street to the park; the creek borders our neighborhood on the back side, so we basically just trespassed our way to the park, but some of those yards are overgrown like a jungle at the water's edge. We set out, Dave and I like normal people in jeans and tennis shoes, Ella in leggings and an old t-shirt (after she finally relented and changed), Luke in full pirate costume with monkey rainboots, and Georgia, naked as the day she was born. Both children were a bit freaked out at the beginning. You could hear us coming from a mile away, and not just because we walk through the underbrush like a heard of stampeding cattle. Ella was whining and crying real tears, Luke, taking cues from her, was acting scared and whining. I finally stopped Ella and insisted that she use words to tell me what she was worried about.
These were the things:
1. "We're lost." No, turn around, what do you see? "A house." Right, a house in our neighborhood. Look in front of you, what do you see? "The creek." Right, the same creek that runs through the park. We are not lost.
2. "We are going to have to sleep here tonight." No, it's afternoon and we could walk straight past that house to the street right now. We will not have to sleep in the woods.
3. "I'm going to get stuck in the tangles." Do you really think we are going to leave you tangled in a thorn bush in the woods? Nodding. You're right. We'll see you in the morning.
I didn't really say that part. I only thought it.
At any rate, it got really cool when they realized they could see the back side of Grandmother's house from the creek bed. The dog had the most fun of all, running up and down the creek bank, swimming, stomping, splashing, smelling, being a dog without a leash. We finally made it to the park, but we decided to take a turn and play on the playground behind the elementary school. We didn't want to walk all the way around the fence, so we found a loose spot and 4 of the five of us shimmied under it. We walked home on the street and took late naps to recover from our Really Roper Adventure.
Sunday, we went to see Princesses and Heros on the ice and this year's reaction to Mickey and Minnie skating out was completely priceless. It was worth the whole show. So was the reaction to the fire-breathing dragon, though in a completely different way. Jake handled it, though, when he yelled at the dragon to "Go AWAY!"
When we got home, we decided to play at the football stadium to get some exercise and fresh air. We brought the dog because she loves the football field and the freedom to run and run and run. Dave and Luke played football while Ella and I walked laps. Georgia alternated between keeping up with me and chasing the football - which she was not allowed to touch on account of the number of footballs she has killed in her lifetime. We played until dark, then we fast-tracked them all to bed.
We let Georgia overdo it a bit; she was so stiff that she didn't want to get off the couch for a crouton, so I borrowed some low-dose aspirin from Grandma to fix her up for bedtime. She had to drag herself out of the recliner this morning, but then I had to drag myself out of the bed. I guess we both aren't as young as we used to be.
But it sure did feel good to be off leash all weekend.
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