A Hike in the Woods

We had SUCH beautiful weather this weekend and it would have been just plain wrong to stay indoors. Owen and Sydney have been "hiking" on the trails here in Edwardsville, but those don't really count because they are flat and paved. We decided to take them on a real hike in Castlewood park this Saturday, complete with dirt paths, rough terrain and a real steep climb to the top of a big hill. It was quite the experience. It all went great on the way up, but things went downhill rather quickly (literally and figuratively) from there. Sydney was tired and I forgot to bring along her paci, so she was not happy while trying to get to sleep. It took a good 10 minutes or so of loud crying at the top of the hill, with all our fellow hikers (the park was packed that day) giving us looks of pity, before she finally fell asleep in the bjorn. During this time Owen informed us that he (sorry in advance for TMI) needed to go #2 and just couldn't hold it any longer. Ben took him off the trail deeper into the woods and Owen became a true hiker! After both kids recovered from their low points (Owen was also ready to go home at the top of the hill, even though we still had a long way to go) and rallied, the rest of the hike went smoothly. Overall it was a great time! Next time, I'll remember to bring the paci!