Georgia 2014 - Hiking Adventures

Part 1 - The Dog is Gross

We took a couple of hikes, walks, and forced marches.  One day we took a trail to find another bond and see if it was worth fishing.  It was the 6 of us with Nathan in the backpack and Maggie coming along.  The pond was disappointing and the trail was in disuse.  We lost the trail for a little while and cut cross country just a little before finding it again.  Fortunately, nobody has broken out with poison ivy, and I think we have unloaded all of the burrs.  

We met up with Grandma on the way back to the cabin, and she gave the kids and I a lift in the car.  Steve walked Maggie home, combed out a score of burrs, and then we immediately gave her a bath because she had done something unspeakably disgusting on the trail.  What was it?  I can’t tell you – it was unspeakable.

Part 2 - Swimming in the Rain

One evening I took Paul and Julia on a “forced march” around some of the property in the drizzling rain because Maggie needed a good walk and they needed to get out of the cabin for a while.  They thought they were being sneaky because they got ahead of me and took a shortcut home, but they took most of the walk I meant for them. 

When we got back, I commented, “It’s too bad we didn’t just go swimming.  In the light rain, the pool looked all silvery and lovely.”  Steve pointed out that we could still do it.  I glanced at the clock – it was getting close to the kids bedtime.  Well really , more Petra’s bedtime.  So Petra stayed in for a proper tuck in time, and Paul, Julia, and I scurried up the hill to the pool.  Since it was raining, we didn’t even bring our towels with us.  We swam until Paul and I were shivering with cold.  It was dusky out and the pool lights were on making our legs look like buttered popcorn.  It was spontaneous, fun, and a little adventurous.  Paul and I were chattering cold on the walk back with Paul saying things like, “I can’t remember what it is like to be warm and dry.”  We decided that Julia’s motto should be the line from the Frozen song, “Cold never bothered me, anyway.”

Part 3 - Run for Your Lives

On the last full day we took a walk to see the waterfall and maybe the cave.  I say maybe, because Steve wasn’t sure he was good for that part of the trail with his knee still recovering from surgery.  He brought his two trekking poles, but was prepared to turn back if the trail was too rough.  I was nervous about taking three children up on a trail that was not well marked to a cave that gave me the willies.  Nathan was napping back at the cabin with Grandma.

The waterfall was very pretty.  In my opinion, the most technically difficult part of the trail is the slope right after the waterfall.  You actually clump up a steep slope right beside the falls.  The path there is mostly dirt, and after all the rain it was, well, wet.  Steve took it slow with his trekking poles and made it to the top to where the trail leveled out for a little while.  Paul and Maggie took the lead, Julia was a little ahead of me, I kept pace with Petra, and Steve ended our wagon train.

Suddenly, Julia cried out, “Ow.  Ouch!  Something hurt my foot.  Ow, ow, OW.”  She was wearing her crocs (rubber clogs) and something had poked her on the sole of her foot.  Steve said, “Just stop Julia.” 

But I noticed insects buzzing around us.  “Julia go.  Go!”  We quickly established that

1.       1. The insects were some kind of hornet

2.       2. We were all being stung

3.       3. These things had a big territory that they defended fiercely.

We had to cross a 10 foot wide creek bed on rocks to get away from the place where Julia was first stung and they were still buzzing us.  I hate to use the term swarm, because it wasn’t like the air was turning dark around us, but even Steve kept shaking his head to shoo them away.  I had been stung while crossing the creek bed and was feeling fearful because I am allergic to some bee and hornet stings.  I had my meat tenderizer (home remedy) and Epi-pen with me, but we agreed that we needed to turn back and get out of the woods.  Paul and Julia led the way out.  I waited Steve to get down trail a little ways, then had Petra climb on my back and we booked over the creek bed and through the hornets as quickly as we could.

I don’t know how Steve got back down that slope beside the waterfall so quickly, but I think some angel of mercy must have been guiding his feet to keep him from hurting his bad knee.

On the way down the trail, I praised Petra, telling her what a good job she was doing of holding on to me.  “Petra, you are the best little back pack EVER.”

We got out of the woods, warned some inbound hikers about the hornets, and I tended my stings.  Paul and Julia had run on across a field to the candy store.  (I’m shaking my head and rolling my eyes.)  When Steve got to them, Paul was picking out a piece of candy, which he had to put back, and Julia said, “Look, Daddy.  They sell a sting kit here.”

“Your mother has a sting kit.  But you ditched her at the trail head.”  They had missed the part about staying there to regroup.  I was pleased that they didn’t panic or start weeping when they got stung.  We needed them to move, and they moved.  They got away from the trouble and made for an enclosed space.

Steve and Paul each got stung once, Petra twice, Julia 3 times, and I got 4.  I did not swell up, but it shook me up pretty well.  God bless Benadryl.  Even Maggie got stung at least once, and, poor dog, I kept walking into her to hurry her along the trail when she wanted to stop and lick at her shoulder.

I was grateful Nathan wasn’t with us, and that Steve was.  I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that my reasonable fear of bee/wasp/hornet stings trumped my facing my irrational fear of caves.

Georgia 2014 - Rope Swing Julia

Julia spent a lot of time on the rope swing this year.

Georgia 2014 - Nathan

Nathan had fun exploring.  He spent  20 minutes clearing a little wooden foot bridge of leaves by dropping them one by one into the stream below.  He liked stomping on the cobble stone walk ways. He was excited to see the big John Deere riding lawn mower for the property tucked into a shed, and run up to it, calling, “Paw-paw,  Paw-paw!”  Because Grandpa goes with John Deere mowers.  He had a lot of fun in the pool.  He played on the steps, or jumped off the side into Grandma’s or Grandpa’s arms.  He also liked walking on the stone walls around the pool.

Georgia 2014 - Tree House

Petra, and I spent a fair amount of time playing at the tree house.  She owned an ice cream shop on the inside, don’t you know.  The rest of us were variously her assistants or customers.  

Business was a little slow, in part because she took her orders on the main level and had to climb a ladder to an upper level to get the ice cream, toppings, and napkins.  Steve described it as a “High security, low efficiency” setup.  

Employee Paul frustrated her one day by throwing her imaginary boxes of ice cream down to the main level.  She tossed them back up into a different section, and I fired Paul.

Georgia 2014 - Fishing

Steve, Paul, and Julia tried their hand at fishing.  Sadly nothing was biting.  The first time out they fished off the “tug” boat.  

Then Steve and Paul went to the big pond out front.  Nothing.  A couple of days later, under my assurance that Almanzo Wilder went fishing in the rain, Steve and Paul tried fishing again while it was raining.  Wet heads, wet shoulders, wet feet, no fish.  They have made a pact never to try fishing in the rain again. Paul was feeling cold, wet, and bored and headed back well before Steve gave up.  Even so, I was very impressed with how long he lasted at it.  

Getting no catches was all the more the pity, because this year Steve brought a flaying knife so Grandma and I would be in less danger of taking our fingers off when preparing the fish this year.

Georgia 2014 - S'mores

Steve and I had a revelation this year.  Neither of us really love s'mores.  We both really like toasted marshmallows.  Neither of us dislikes chocolate or graham crackers.  But we are just not that excited about S'mores.  The children, on the other hand, are very much in love with s'mores.

Georgia Vacation 2014 Getting there

The kids call it “The Cabin in Georgia.”  To them, all of Georgia is tucked in the beside Look Out Mountain and is meant for family vacation.

The trip here started off bumpy.  We finished packing and got snagged in rush hour in the rain.  We had to make an early pit stop for Petra and (ahem) the dog who didn’t go before we left because she doesn’t like the rain. We weren’t a half hour down the road and Maggie was staring, unblinking into our eyes, which is her way of communicating, “If you don’t let me out soon, I am going to water your lap.”  

Eventually the rains stopped and we had smooth sailing.  After eating lunch in the car, we stopped at a park to let the children run around for an hour before finishing off the drive.

The older three children and I went swimming the first night.

The second day we swam all morning and went to the candy store after lunch.  After a little quiet time (to keep the adults from collapsing) we played around the giant tree house and stream. Petra fell asleep with her head on the dinner table.

Gratuitous Cute Shot

Georgia Vacation - Civil War Battlefield Trip

One day we went to the Chickamauga Battlefield National Park.  Paul and Julia watched a movie about the battle with Steve.  It was too scary for Petra, and even Paul and Julia were a little shaken by it, which is not at all inappropriate.  

The museum had an impressive collection of old rifles.

While Petra, Nathan, and I hung out waiting for the movie to end, we caught the tail end of a talk on Civil War firearms.  A park worker in period clothing shot a musket.  It was crazy loud.  We were twenty yards or so away, and it still made Petra jump, and Nathan come running to me.  Petra was a little afraid of the man who gave the presentation and did not seem convinced when I explained that he was a teacher wearing a costume and not a bad guy.

We drove around the park.  I would like to go back and take some more time to see the grounds when the kids are a little older.  You could easily spend a whole day if you walked the trails to see the different markers, signs, plaques and memorials.  

Little swimmers

A year ago I noted that Paul had his first swimming lesson at age 4, Julia at age 3, and Petra at age 2.  I glanced at baby Nathan and said, “We NOT going to give you swim lessons at one.”

I was wrong.

An opportunity came up for him to have lessons, and since we will be vacationing at a place with a pool this summer, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to have a little help teaching Nathan what the water is all about.  

He was a little nervous when I handed him off to Miss Beth, but she worked her magic and soon had him reaching for toys and playing.  The water has been a little cold, and by the end of the first lesson, his jaw was shaking with shivers.  Even so, he was so happy in the water that he didn’t want to come out.

I don’t know how Miss Beth does it.  It looks for all the world like she is just playing with the little kids in the water.  I think, “I could do that much.”  But the next thing I know they are doggy paddling, or swimming underwater, or diving to the bottom – everything they feared a couple of days before.

Petra is starting to be able to swim underwater.  I'm so excited! This is very good, because last weekend we went to a party Steve’s cousin’s house, and there was an in-ground pool.  Paul and Julia were all over that pool and it was so nice to know I could just check on them periodically because they are decent little swimmers.  We had to keep a much closer eye on Petra.  We looked over at one point and realized she was waiting in a line of older girls to use the diving board.  Yikes!  “No, Petra.  You have to show us you can swim across the pool before you may jump into the deep end.”  We also decided that floating on a raft in the deep end was not such a good idea.  

Another time I turned away to straighten up some towels.  When I looked back, Petra’s head was underwater.  A little girl, not much bigger than Petra was trying to help Petra grab a raft, but her head was also underwater.  I quickly grabbed the little girl’s arm to get their noses back in the air.  Petra was completely unfazed by the whole event.  I certainly didn’t mind watching the children in the pool, but it will be a relief when I don’t have to keep Petra’s head in view constantly.

Paul's Check-up

Paul had his yearly check-up recently.  He is running right at 50^th percentile on height and weight, and to my great delight and astonishment his vision is fine.

Before the doctor came in, the nurse asked Paul if he had any health questions for the doctor.  This is always death.  He said, “Well, sometimes I see things and hear voices.”

The nurse’s and my eyebrows rose about 2 inches and I had two thoughts.  First, I’m pretty sure this is Paul’s very active imagination.  Second, if I’m wrong, I guess I better find out sooner rather than later if my son is becoming psychotic.  

A little while later the doctor tried to ask some follow up questions, things along the lines of “Do you see things that aren’t really there?” and “Do you hear voices that tell you to do things?”

The answers he got were, “Well, I was playing Minecraft [a video game] in the car and I thought I saw a zombie, but when I turned and looked, it wasn’t there.” And “I heard something, and Julia was standing and talking in the hall.”

I felt like hiding, but promised the doctor I would keep an eye on him, and assured that I had not had any warning signals that he was hallucinating or about to burn the house down.

When I reported to Steve that Paul claimed to be hearing voices, Steve’s answer was, “He does have 3 siblings.”

Paul still struggles with being very easily distracted.  I have realized that there are times when that is a blessing to me.  When he was an infant crawling about it was very easy to redirect him from the electrical outlet that he wanted to chew on.  A couple of weeks ago, the kids got some helium balloons.  The next day Paul was at the top of the stairs annoying or being annoyed by his sisters.  I called up, "Hey Paul, do you think the balloon is strong enough to float a lego man?"  He instantly jumped into his room to get a lego toy and find out.  
Steve looked at me and smiled, "Well played."

This week Paul was upset about having to go to Tae Kwon Do.  "Our instructor is mean.  I miss soccer.  Why did you have to take me out of soccer? Why do I have to go?  I don't want to."  He was almost in tears while we were driving to class.  I have a long list of reasons why Steve and I want Paul in martial arts.  I did not give them.  Instead I asked, "Paul, who do you want to invite to your birthday party?"
He did a mental 180°.

He had a fine time in class that night and has not been so upset since then.

(Confession: Paul, Julia, and Petra tried to stage a mutiny on me before going to TKD class Monday night.  Before taking the birthday planning track, I did threaten to cancel our family vacation if the kids' attitudes did not improve. I do not make idle threats.)