A Fun and Stressful Day

Wow. I took the day off to go camping. Due to my own malfeasance, that didn't happen. Instead, we went hiking. My fried David told me about Big Hill Pong State Park (thanks David). I've been planning to go take a peek for some time. My plan was to camp in the Pickwick State Park, and go to Shiloh for the Civil War reenactment. I figured we would stop by on the way back or something.

The day didn't exactly go the way I expected. I got a couple of phone calls from friends/co-workers. I was told that someone from my area was laid off, and several others that I work around. I asked one if I needed to call my boss to find out about myself. The day went on, and I got several other calls and text messages. I listened to a voice mail informing me that there were some in our group, but I was not one. That was a relief.

Now the fun part. We took a hike. Literally. I took all of the kids hiking. Joi stayed in the van and watched a movie and read a book. We were gone about two hours. I figure we probably went two miles there and back. Now I realize that doesn't sound like much, but... but... I had five kids with me. I carried (in a backpack), the youngest at one, and my two and four year old's walked the entire way. To add to that, this was around nap time (2:30 to 4:30). The first 200 feet was a descent, where we crossed the lake to ascend the other side. It was much milder on the other side, but that meant we had to climb the major hill before getting back to the van.

All in all, we had a great time. I am so thankful that my kids love trenching through the woods. There were so many leaves on the ground, no leaves in the trees, and they were being giggly, so we didn't get to converse much. It is still a lot of fun to just walk around in nature. I think if I could, I would live in the middle of the woods. I enjoy it so much.

So with that trip, I've decided that before long, I am going to take the older kids (not sure if that will stop at #2 or #3) backpacking. We'll hike through the woods to a shelter, and spend the night. We're going camping soon, but I still can't wait to do this.