Adventure.

As I get closer to having this baby, my energy to be a "fun" mom wanes.
I'm glad to have Mother-Nature on my side.
I took the kids on a hike with a few of their friends.
That way they could exert themselves and explore and make a raucous and . . .
I wouldn't care.
The world has better sound control and is more spot-resistant than my house.
I needed that on this particular day.
Something magical--with potential for disaster--happens when boys and fresh air collide.
They needed that on this particular day.

I had a few misgivings.
Genius that I am,
I chose to hike during the hottest time of day, 1-3 PM.
I also failed to take into account that there was a lot of uphill-ness to this family-friendly hike.
On more than one occassion I thought to myself,
"This would reallly stink if I put myself into labor."
"Please stay put, baby."
"Not your smartest idea, to be sure."

BUT, we made it.
Annie and I took our time, while I prayed that the boys wouldn't fall off a precipice.
Two hours later, covered in mud, we made it back to the car.
We were off to get an ice-cream cone with half of my kids in their undies and a t-shirt.
(Some of my children have more self-restraint than others when it comes to mud.)
Isn't summer grand?