Sometimes Adventure is Spelled "T-O-R-T-U-R-E"

You know how sometimes we write up these remarkable adventure posts, and bombard this blog with images of incredible times we are having as a family?

I just want to be clear: it is not always rugged happiness when we do things together.  There are times it is downright miserable.

A few Saturdays ago, we went to watch Zachary's soccer game.  Soccer is awesome--it helps him learn to play with other kids on a team, make new friends, and get in plenty of physical activity.  I've mentioned that coaching has not been my forte, but only because I'm hauling an emotional 18-month-old around on my hip the entire, sweaty time.  Even though it's awesome, our Saturdays revolve around the game, and we have less time to go out and do all-day adventures.  That is okay and part of kids growing up!

This particular Saturday, Zachary was the flower-picker.  No, he was not actually picking flowers, but our typically aggressive little man suddenly became the kid who shrieked when another kid defended him, dribbled only long enough to scream, "LUKE, GET THE BALL!" (our all-star player), and generally loitered about 10 feet away from the pack.  He faked getting tripped over and over again, just so he could make an impressive crash landing/flip.  He made obnoxious noises and generally seemed to have no idea what was going on. 

Follow that up with a hike.  Zachary is a hiker--a seriously tough little boy who can go further than many adults.  This time, though, it was miserable getting him to go a mile.  Kate cried most of the way to the top, and so did he.  Brady and I laughed sarcastically about the ridiculous situation.  We made it to the top of Sleeping Giant, when he finally changed his tune and happily ran down the rest of the trail, trying to "beat Daddy."  Sadly, Mommy has no sense of direction, and I took us clear to the other side of the mountain's trail head.  A nice man told me where we were and let me use his cell phone, and about an hour later, Brady got my message and came to pick us up.

My point of this rambling?  Yeah, we are in paradise with lovely little experiences, but sometimes, the extra effort shoots you in the foot!

We did get some cute shots of the day, we did have lots of laughs later, and if you asked Zac how he liked this hike, he would tell you it was "GOOD!"

"Look at the camera and say cheese!" 

The kids loved paying in the red dirt.

That day I also made my first Coconut Cream pie for the ward luau.  So, we had a sweet end to the nutty day.