Riley and Avery

Riley and her prize rocks. I don't know what it is with her and rocks.

This is Avery pouting for some reason or another. I've forgotten now. Still cute!
Unfortunately, Avery's hair is all messed up in this picture. I didn't notice it until later. Poo.

So, to change things up a bit, instead of going into the mountains today, we decided to go to the high plains. We heard of a neat spot called The Paint Mines Interpretive Park north east of the Springs and decided to check it out. We arrived with no great fanfare or major events. When we got out of the car, Riley said that she needed sunscreen on and I told her that I would put it on in a few minutes so that she could get some vitamin D from the sun first. She asked me what vitamin D was and I told her. In response, Avery absolutely shrieked "Noooooooooo! I don't like vitamin D!! I like chicken nuggets!!!!" I thought that was pretty darn funny.

Anyway, we get to hiking and about 1/4 mile in Rudi has to head back for a bathroom emergency. I've gotten used to these and we slowly walked on so that he could catch up. The Paint Mines consist of these awesome rock formations, and as we get farther in, I realize that Rudi will be totally unable to find us. We get into the rock formations and I think that there is a trail going into the rocks, and we start climbing up (mind you, Avery is strapped to my back) and by the time I realize that we are in fact not on a trail at all, it is too late to go down without sliding down and we keep going up. I'm not talking about a steep incline, or a big hill, I'm talking hand and foot climbing (with Avery strapped to my back, I mentioned that already, right?) We get to the top of the mesa only to be greeted by a field of cacti. I'm glad that I didn't let Riley wear her Teva sport sandals at this point. To my chagrin I realize that the trail is not on top of the mesa at all, and Avery wants to nurse. Did I mention the cacti? Anyway, off in the distance, I spot Rudi (thankfully wearing a red shirt) and try to flag him down. He sees us not. And keeps walking back and forth on the same path. So I try to call him on his phone (we got reception on the mesa, but not below). Doofus doesn't have his phone on him. Great.

So, we go up another mesa to hopefully find the trail. This one is steep but not hand and foot climbing steep. We get up to the top to find that we've landed ourselves into a huge nest of fire ants. We run through and I'm glad that I made Riley wear jeans instead of shorts. We finally find the trail (not our trail, but another one that will do just as good) and have to go down the slope to get to it. Through enormously tall grass and more cacti. There's a group of hikers on the trail when we start coming down and they look at us in amazement. A woman with a toddler on her back dragging along her trooper of a four-year-old, coming down off the mesa. Did I mention that leaving the trail is "strictly" prohibited? Going down again on the trail, we see Rudi again, still walking back and forth, not knowing which trail to find us on. We wave our arms and he finally sees us. We get down and Rudi doesn't really want to hike, but I make him see at least a little bit of the formations. He's disappointed that there is not a visitors center (and gift shop). He said he was tired. I say, who walked at LEAST five miles with a toddler on their back climbing rocks and mesas?

Oh yeah, I forgot the sunscreen after all and we all got burned.

So, I learned a few things today. One, although I don't work out I am still naturally somewhat physically fit. Yay, me. And although rather clumsy in daily life, I'm quite sure-footed in the wilderness. Two, babywearing rocks. We seriously would have been screwed if Avery were walking. Three, Rudi likes to think of himself as a rather enlightened mountain man, but he's so really not when it comes right down to it. Every trail or park he visits must have a visitor's center or gift shop. And when we pulled into the parking lot he said, where are the Paint Mines and I said that we obviously had to hike to them. He didn't like that. I mean, didn't we go there to hike? So, for him, all attractions must be right off the parking lot. Crazy.

This is Riley trying to fly away with her umbrella in the wind. She really really really tried.

On to other news:

I got straight A's again! (what?) Yes, straight A's! (wha-whaaaat?) Straight A's, baby, straight A's.

Riley's goldfish, so artfully named Goldie, is no more. Riley cried, Riley was sad. I was (dare I say?) glad to not have fish anymore. I always hate fish when we have them, and forget my dislike for them when we don't have them. Anyway, Riley asked if we cleaned out his tank if he would come back to life. I said no, she said why, I said dead is dead and dead things don't come back to life. She said "Well, vampires do it all the time!" I asked her where she learned that (although I already knew) and she said "Daddy's movies, of course!"

So the neighborhood kids were all outside yesterday playing with squirt guns. So I watch as my girls are trained in the art of gun-shooting. It made me cringe. But what says summer fun more than weapon play? Hmmm...