Hiking Patapsco

Last weekend I took Emma, Rachael, and Megan to Patapsco Valley State Park to hike and enjoy the beautiful weather. We have had temps in the low 80's and moderate humidity so we had to get outside and into God's creation. As we drove in a deer crossed the road right in front of us and it peaked their interests.

Emma had been to the trail we were hiking once before and was eager to lead. She spoke with a lot of authority but soon discovered that waterfalls and trails don't quite look the same in a different season and she settled in to just experiencing it with the rest of us. We climbed on rocks of a waterfall as we worked our way upstream. Megan fell a number of times but she was so determined to hang with the big girls that she brushed herself off and continued with a smile. I can't even count the number of times she said "I'm OK." We put flip flops on and the girls removed a layer to get in the water in their bathing suits. They were disappointed the water wasn't very high. We continued back down the hill. Rachael vacillated throughout our hike from daredevil to timid. At one point she stepped ankle deep in mud and got her flip flop and foot stuck. She had to dig it out with her hands. We all laughed as she recited lines of a book we have "One Duck Stuck".

We crossed a suspension bridge, checked out train tracks and then decide to wade back across the river to our car. It had a mild current and wasn't more than waist deep on the girls. We took off our shoes and headed out. Sadly I hadn't thought to have the girls put their shoes in their back packs and in went Rachael's flip flop. Emma attempted to chase it but no luck and then dropped one of her flip flops. I joined the pursuit and a number of yards downstream I captured them both. the girls got a kick out of this and I could hear lots of giggling behind me. Megan was almost to the other side and the poor girl fell on a rock and lost both of her tennis shoes. I was already down stream but I was still on the near shore so I crossed over missing the shoes and had to go even farther down stream. I retrieved them both but on the last shoe I fell in the river. All of us were soaked and the girls bags were drenched.

As we worked our way back to our crossing point 2 couples began crossing the river. Earlier a group had held some sort of ceremony on the waters edge and had thrown fruit and flowers into the water so there were oranges and strawberries floating among the rocks. Rachael picked up a strawberry and threw it at one of the guys who was holding up his pants and she yelled "Food Fight". It was a great throw and hit him on the side of the head. His whole group broke out in laughter. Amid stifled laughter I had Rachael apologize. I am laughing now just thinking about it. What was she thinking?

This week Jim and I were both busy at work and Jim started his Astronomy class at school. He had to spend a huge chunk of his day today following up with U of Phoenix because they messed up his student loans and charged payments incorrectly to our credit card. We think it has been corrected, but we'll have to continue to watch it.

Emma and Rachael visited school on Thursday for a social and we met their teachers and brought in most of their supplies. Emma is looking forward to being the big kid on campus and Rachael so looking forward to this. She received and gave out lots of hugs to friends and teachers. Megan still has a few more weeks but today we got her new school shoes and she is getting excited too. Bridget is cutting teeth and is getting frustrated more easily then normal. She is napping well so that helps. She loves to go outside for walks. Today she helped me water the flowers with a little watering can and in the process soaked her shirt, but she enjoyed it.