Mueler Park Trail

Yesterday I had the kids to myself in the morning so we decided to go on a hike. Soph and Collin have done only one hike before, which started in protests and ended with us carrying two kids on the return leg. I was a little nervous, but considered it my fatherly duty to teach the kids that hikes are indeed fun. I had them engaged for the first 30 minutes during the hike looking for bugs, lizards, and tracks on the trail. Soph was really starting to get into it when she started having mini-races on the trail with us. Then she inevitably tripped and scraped her knee and elbow. Although they were just little scratches there was no consoling her without the bandaids that I neglected to bring. She was screaming that she wanted home and mom. We headed back to a soundtrack of moaning and crying. The day was lost until we stopped at the creek. Once the tears were gone, the kids trudged through the water for over an hour. We took a break and ate our lunch on the side of the creek. With filthy hands and faces we ate sandwiches and apples and laughed enough to forget about our troubles earlier. The kids said they had fun and I won't forget the time we giggled for hours on the bank of Mueler Park creek.