Trail Day (Summer)

Shane and I got Bodo's after church (Thanks, soccer peeps!). The line was super-long, but it moved fast enough and helped kill some time.

John, Dylan, Eli, and Ava met us for a trail walk. John brought Kyrie along for some leash training.

The three boys took off running.

Kyrie tried to choke herself to join them (she's new to the leash). Ava hung with us at first. 

But she was quickly distracted by all of the other animals on the trail. The first of which was a black snake.

Followed by every single dog that walked by!

 The boys kept moving until they hit the rope swing.

Shane wanted to swing on it. I said I wouldn't stop him. If he got wet, he'd have to deal with it. 

Shane opted not to swing after all. I think it would've been fine on the way back, but even smarter to do it with a swimsuit and towel! It'll probably happen someday.

Turtles on the river were the other big attraction at the stop.

We let the kids play and Kyrie worked to tie her leash in a knot.

With all the pulling, John was glad he didn't let a kid try to walk her! Kyrie was friendly with every dog she saw. They were all friendly in return (it helps that she's still a puppy).

The next stop involved hunting for crawfish and throwing rocks in the river.

Shane made a catch!

All the kids hopped on rocks to the center of the river. The water isn't even waist high and they could all swim, so the only dangers were wet shoes and skinned knees.

Thankfully, we managed to avoid all of those! Eli thought he was stuck for a little bit, but he worked it out on his own.

John wasn't worried and too busy trying to think of a way for Kyrie to drink. It was a hot day! He used a tarp and some tree roots to make an improvised bowl.

On our third pit stop, Ava spotted a couple with a dog by the river. They were throwing a stick for the dog to jump in and fetch. "Can I throw once?" she asked. They agreed and then ALL the kids wanted a turn!

We turned around and got back to the cars just as it was starting to rain (you can see it on the asphalt). It was perfect timing!

For us, it was a fun social outing. For John's crew, it was an electronics break without moaning and fighting! I can't remember if we went straight home or on errands afterward. The 2 hours plus on the trail were the highlight of the day!