The kids and I had a very nice day at the river with our friend Elsa. Thanks Elsa! We managed our hour drive into the country with books on cd packets from the library. I played the cds, and the kids looked at the pictures. Rose can read of course, but reading in the car upsets her stomach. Unfortunately the books were rather short, so we were constantly having to change Little Red Riding Hood for The Story of Rosa Parks and on to Fire Safety. I found I could actually tune out the well written and read stories better than the insipid cloying slow and poorly written ones. Even with the speakers tuned all the way to the back of the car, I still suffered through Calm, Quick Witted, and Cool with their fire safety advice.

As one of her nephews pointed out, Elsa is a kid friendly grown-up. She and I were camp counselors together twenty some years ago. It's so nice to be with someone who thinks to bring a first aid kit and doesn't mind helping small children poop in the woods. (I feel like I spent the first hour at the river helping one child or the other poop in the woods, and this is after a bathroom trip right before we hiked down.)

Elsa also brought a great blow up chaise lounge. We all got a chance to float on it, even me. That was the best part of the trip, looking up at the cliffs, floating with the current, and listening to Elsa answer all of David's questions.

I hadn't really planned it this way, but this was the most serious hike the kids have done. It wasn't long or steep, but it also wasn't paved. David splatted several times from tree roots. Only his ego got really hurt. I'm excited about them working on their hiking skills. We came home exhausted, a bit dehydrated and over sunned, but very happy.