Adventuring

Last Saturday, we had a little time in the afternoon for some Adventuring.  I'm not even sure if that is the correct use of the term, but we like to use it that way, so I'm going with it.   We usually go in the same spot in Los Penasquitos canyon, mostly because it is easy and the kids like it.  This is the same spot as my ill-fated waterfall hike, just for reference sake, but usually when we go adventuring we either have our bikes (like we did this time) or just walk to the first bridge which takes approximately 5 minutes.  Lauren really wanted to break out the new bike on the trail (it's a very well-maintained trail, but still, off-roading.. woo hoo!).  Of course, the older girls weren't all that into the idea at first.  Is that a teenager thing where they think all of your ideas are lame and then after you convince them to go they end up having a great time?   In the end, I think pretty much everyone had a good time except for me.  I don't mean this to sound bad, but I got stuck on Fox duty.

 I love the kid so much, but he totally thinks he is 12 and gets a little peeved when things aren't shaping up the way he wants.  Fox had also wanted to bring his bike.  Robie thought that was a great idea, so we did.  It wasn't a great idea.  He wanted to pedal the whole way AND keep up with the girls AND stop at the bridge to throw rocks AND have daddy right next to him.  In fact, only one of those things would be happening (I'll give you a hint, it's the one that involves a bridge and rock throwing).  Robie and the girls were gone in approximately 10 seconds, down the trail, so I was stuck trying to not push him (because if I pushed the little handle at the wrong time he would scream at me, "No, I'm doing it!") or push him at the right time when he screamed in an exacerbated tone, "Mom, you need to push me, I'm not going!"  As an example of his annoyance level, when we stopped at the bridge, he got off the bike to throw rocks in the river.  In an attempt to be polite, I went to move his bike off the middle of the bridge where he had dumped it.  He freaked and then insisted on getting back on it and circling it around until he got to the exact spot where he had left it (directly blocking almost all traffic across the bridge).  AARGH!  Finally, we met up with the rest of the group.  Much better.    The kids even let me take some pictures without making totally funny faces!  Too bad I didn't realize Ashley was still holding her helmet for this one :)