Vindication

Lately, Allison has been impossible at the grocery store. The main problem is that she always stands up in the cart. I'm not talking about the main compartment, I'm talking about the basket in the front. Now, you might be thinking, "why don't you just use the straps?" They don't work, you'd sooner hold back the wind then get that girl to sit down. After a few experiences of getting stern looks and judgemental words from strangers I decided that I would start putting her in the main compartment with Noah. She can stand up there and it's less dangerous. Unfortunately, she thinks it's fun to throw all the groceries out of the cart. So, do I let her stand in the basket and endure the judgements of others or put her in the main compartment where she'll chew through the butter box and throw everything else out?

Today I saw a mother with a little girl Allison's age standing in the front basket. Finally! I'm not the only one. So I say, let them judge! I know that my baby girl is safe because I'm standing right there and I will catch her if she falls.

Backpacking Trip

Last weekend Keith and I left the kids and went on a 2.5 day backpacking trip in Shenandoah. I've never been backpacking before but I like hiking and I like camping so it seemed logical that I would also enjoy backpacking. So, here's what I learned....

-although fun, hiking with 30 pounds on your back is actually hard work

-seeing deer in their natural habitat is so much cooler than at the zoo

-hiking down a mountain is MUCH harder than hiking up

-I have the best hubby in the world

We went about 13 miles total and towards the end of our second day my legs and knees were so tired that I could hardly walk. Keith was amazing, he took as much of the weight off my pack as he could carry. Who said chivalry is dead? Now, if I could just get him to do the dishes....

Here are some pics from the trip:

Here's Keith at the summit of Robertson Mountain. Right before the "thigh-burning" descent.

Here's a picture of the deer that wandered into our camp. She just hung out and stared at us for a while. It was pretty cool.

This is the first day (hence the smile). I'm sitting on the stool that Keith fashioned out of three sticks, some rope and a peice of fabric. Yeah, he's MacGyvor.