My new job requires quite a bit of writing, so I find that I have less interest in cracking open the computer in the evenings and blogging for fun.  I do miss telling fun kid stories though, so here is one that I want to remember.  

A few weekends ago it was my birthday.  J arranged several girls’-only outings on Saturday for me (pedicure, lunch, a concert, cocktails, dinner and 90’s night dancing) but on Sunday I requested a relaxed day with the family.  The weather was sooooo gorgeous so we decided to take a little sojourn to the Columbia Gorge.  We pulled up to Latourell Falls and set out to do some hiking.

The hike we ended up doing was 2.4 miles, and the kids did great!  It was Sammy’s longest hike and he kept up, though at the end he did ask that we slow down a little bit because his “legs wanted to rest.”  My favorite moment, besides hiking in the forest with my family on a beautiful day, was when we took a snack break at the base of a waterfall exactly halfway through the hike.

There was a little wooden bridge that crossed the stream at the base of the upper falls.  The kids were awed by the waterfall, the sound, the bridge and the rushing water.  We paused to look at it and pulled out a granola bar for them.  J broke it in half and handed one half to each child.  Clare started to eat hers, but Sammy immediately threw his into the water.  

“Sammy!  Don’t  throw it!!”  

Sam looked up at us with wide eyes, “why did I throw my bar?”  

“That’s a very good question.  Why did you throw your bar?”

“I wanted it to be a stick.”  

While this conversation was going on, Clare broke her bar into two pieces and gave half of it to Sammy.  Fortunately we had an extra bar in the backpack so we could replace Sam’s snack and Clare could keep hers.  I told her later that I was proud of her for being so generous and kind.  She glanced up at me and said matter-of-factly, “I gave him the smaller piece.”  

These kids – they keep us on our toes.