Let's Not Do This Again!

Good grief, what a mess! So, last time I wrote we were trying to do weekend family activities since Matt has no vacation days. On the 25th we tried to hike at Silver Falls State Park. Mistake #1 not planning enough time. I figured the kids are only up for about 2 1/2 hours of hiking, I was right on that part but had underestimated the distance to the park. We wanted to leave at 10 and get home at 2:30. The drive was 1 1/2 hour each way. Mistake #2 Overestimating hiking speed, The average land-speed velocity of an unladen preschooler is 1.2 miles per hour. #1 and 2 combine to give us an arrival time back at home of about 4:30. Mistake #3 was assuming dogs would be welcome on the trail. Dogs are only allowed on the rim trail, not down in the canyon where the waterfalls are. So, the end result was 3 hour of hiking, and the only waterfall we saw was the one that is dry in the summertime. Remarkably little complaining from the kids though.

The next Tuesday I got together with some friends to do a beach trip. We went to Siletz Bay. Our kids probably spent 5 hours collecting jellyfish in their buckets. Since we got a late start two of us decided to stay until sunset. Well first, my youngest daughter, Macy tried to sail out to sea. I had to go swimming to retrieve her, At high tide the bay is mostly full of ocean water, and a bloody cold ocean it is too. I was actually concerned she would capsize the inner tube and panic in eight feet of water. She fortunately waited until we were most of the way back to land to fall off the tube. End result was a through wetting but no injury.

Soon after that the sun went down. Like a complete idiot I wandered down the beach to watch, forgetting to take my backpack/purse. While I was gone it was stolen. Here we are, stranded at the beach; car keys, cell phone, and wallet all gone. Car locked with all the dry clothes locked inside and everyone soaking wet. The sun had gone down and we had a nice cold onshore breeze. Thank goodness for a REALLY nice policeman that let the kids sit in his warm patrol car while we used his cell phone to call our husbands. Double thank goodness for USAA roadside assistance who towed us to McMinnville where Matt could come pick us up, and the Toyota dealer could cut us a new key the next morning. Bad news is that the thieves used my credit card before we got the card blocked, good news is that Burger King might have surveillance tapes of the incident. Yes, their daring theft earned them dinner at Burger King. Thieves are sure dumb.

End result, I could happily have skipped both these-maybe they will make for good stories when my kids are all grown up.