After a social strike out the last time Shane was home for a weekend, we hit the trails with the McMullens!
John brought his step-daughter, Eva, and his step-dog, Goldy, too! It promised to be a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, the trip started off on the wrong foot. John forgot to close a car door and had to run back as we set off. He handed Goldy's leash away to do so. Goldy pulls. I noticed, but Eva told me she walks Goldy all the time and I, foolishly, believed her.
We ran into another dog within a minute. Literally right past the bridge after I took this group picture (the extras are a group of randoms who started at the same time as us).
Goldy wasn't aggressive, but she did run up to sniff. It scared the older woman and she jerked her dog up by the neck. Eva looked stunned. The older woman started to 'discuss her feelings' on the matter as I grabbed the leash and pushed Goldy and Eva along.
Eva processed as we walked. John ran up from the car and we talked through it while the boys ran ahead. The boys seemed oblivious, but they dropped back eventually to cheer Eva on before running off again.
Or at least all the major diet food groups: Frozen Smart Ones meals, diet sodas, coffee, and cucumbers.
She joined them after not too long!
All the kids wanted to go to "the beach."
Shoes came off and frolicking ensued!
The river was running high. It flooded most of the usual beach, but that left a large, shallow wading area to run through.
Not that I brought spare clothes or a towel. I told Shane it was game over if his underwear got wet!
Dylan stayed on the initial beach and played geologist. He dug a cave and started a rock collection. The others ran farther south and pretended to fish from what I heard.
John and I stayed in the middle and gave the kids some space until there was too much sand flying from the rowdy bunch (aka: Shane and Eli). We started seeing kayaks and boats float by.
Shane found an ant hill and went into professor mode for Eva and Eli.
We might have stayed longer, but a pair of boats landed next to our shoes. The kids from the boats started to skip rocks from Dylan's rock collection, so we gave him a head's up. Dylan didn't get upset, but he wanted to retrieve his rocks, so we gathered up everyone.
We rinsed sand off feet to shoe up and trusted time and the temperature to dry off wet pants.
John and I made the executive decision to walk back towards the cars instead of further away. The kids protested, but we told them we wanted to go under the bridge. Once they realized it wasn't time to go home yet, they ran with the plan (literally).
Shane and Eli were playing at one point and Eli was running backwards. He didn't stop when we told him to and fell into a small ditch. It wouldn't have been a bad fall, but John nearly grabbed him out of midair to make it even less of an issue. Still, it spooked Eli and he decided to make John Carrie him until we went under the bridge.
I issued a wall walking challenge, but it didn't catch Eli. Shane and Eva were game!
They jumped off the end of the wall and Eli started running with everyone again soon after.
We turned back after we came across a fully masked family. It's interesting how the masks are a very visible way to judge people's comfort zones. I had a mask for Shane and I in my back pocket. Since we were outside, I kept them away unless we came across people who actively masked as we approached.
This family, had the masks on without anyone else around, stopped, and turned around on the trail when they saw us. We'd already been on the trail for a couple of hours, so John and I took it as a sign to head to his house for snacks and more play time.
Shane brought his Nerf gun with him. He didn't realize how seriously Dylan and Eli's step-brothers took their Nerf.
The kids geared up for a battle royale in the neighborhood. Dylan and Eva explained the boundaries to Shane and then they were off.
John, Kelly, and I stayed in the house with windows open. It gave us a vantage point to listen for trouble while we talked.
Goldy kept an eye out, too! She wished she was out there with them!
It looked like a blast! The kids eventually came in and hopped on tablets, but I felt that was a good cool down activity. Shane showed Eli "Just Shapes and Beats."
Carrie missed us terribly, so I said it was time to go right before dinner. Of course, Shane and I had worked up an appetite and it was a long drive home...
...and Krispy Kreme offered a free donut for vaccinations, so why not ? Shane loves the conveyor belt! I bought myself a blueberry cake donut and the cashier gave us TWO free donuts hot off the press.
We munched happily to give us energy for some grocery shopping for Carrie. We hit all the major food groups.
Shane and I were out of the house for about 5.5 hours one all the traveling and errands were through. It made for the kind of Saturday he and I like! Carrie had some boarders come by and rode with them in the afternoon, so I felt pretty good about her being busy, too.
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