Yesterday, our little crew decided to take a spontaneous trip. A little adventure to a place not far from here. The girls had new shoes to break in for the pioneer trek in August, and Tom wanted to have some much needed family time. So we packed a lunch and drove off in our newly cooled Suburban. (Thanks, honey!)
Palouse Falls, is about 90 minutes from here. The drive there was desolate. I think we only passed a handful of cars. When we arrived, I was surprised at the crowds milling around the parking lot and viewing area. I am not sure where they came from.
After Tom talked to the park person, he was confident our little group would have no problem hiking to the falls. We started out, confident we were up to the task. Within seconds, Maddy started expressing her discomfort. "I'm cold." "I'm hot." "This is hard." And my favorite. "Are you trying to kill me?" I was tired of hearing her whine, I felt like we must have been on the trail for an hour or more when I turned around and saw the car not too far from where we were.
I was trying to help her down a particularly rocky part of the trail when she said.
"If I die, I'm going to sue."
"Who are you going to sue? Heavenly Father for putting the rocks here?" I asked.
"Yes, and he will have to give me Eternal Life. I deserve it." She answered.
I took a few steps away from her and looked at the clear blue sky and wondered when the lightening was going to strike.
"Maddy, I think I am glad I won't be your Ma for the trek."
"I know," she said, "My company is going to hate me."
I thought for a minute and asked, "What if (crush boy) is in your group?"
Without hesitating, she said, "Then, I will stand there and look cute."
Honestly, her comments and observations had us laughing for most of the hike. We had ourselves convinced that we were going to be on an upcoming episode of I Shouldn't be Alive.Especially when Tom tried to talk us into a very narrow, complete drop off on one side part of the trail. We backtracked the way we came and made it safely back to our car and enjoyed a wonderful picnic. All in all, it was a day we needed. Being together, laughing, sweating, a little whining and eating. What more could I want?
