Good Morning and welcome to a rainy Wednesday!

So, this past weekend it was pretty nice. Nice enough, in fact, that getting outside was not only something nice to do, but it felt like a mandate.
When it hits 70 degrees in November, you just have to do something, anything, to enjoy the air.
The easy way is to head to a playground and let the little ones run around until they tire out. The problem with that is two fold: First, they never tire out and second it doesn't give much for the parent's to do.
Sure, you can play a little bit. Maybe push the swing (for about five hours), but we need something more as well.
So, it seemed like the perfect day to walk through the woods. A quick drive down the Blue Route found Fairmount Park and Forbidden Drive.
Anybody who hasn't been there, right across the street from Chestnut Hill College, really needs to make the trip.
So, after a picnic lunch, it was time to hit the trail.
Now, when you take three children (ages 4, 7 and 10) on a hike, it could go either way. They could enjoy the thing or make it so much more difficult.
Luckily, this day, they were fascinated by the trees and the chance to do something different.
The air. The leaves. The small mountain trail. All of it made for a nice afternoon. Of course, there were some moments (aren't there always).
We made it up, we made it down. Now we are rooting for some more warm days just to try it again.

Good Morning and welcome to a new week!

So, that was certainly an interesting weekend. We started with tons of rain and ended a meltdown. In between, though, pretty good.
All that rain that came down Saturday at least gave us an opportunity to get the house clean. It doesn't feel so bad staying inside when it's all mud and wet outside.
Sunday, though, the sun came out and it was a perfect day for a walk.
Well, at least I was able to walk. First, though a little background.
Coming up in September is the Walk4Hearting at Ridley Creek State Park.
So, in preparation, Sunday was a good day to try out the 4.3 mile course. Then again, when dragging a 7-year old and a 4-year old along, there has to be a way to get them around the whole thing.
Bright Idea: Bikes.
So, we loaded two bikes into the van and made the way to the park. After getting on the trail, it seemed to be a great idea. The little ones were riding their bikes and not complaining about 'it being too hot' or 'I need water.'
So, the start was OK. Then, all of a sudden, one bike took off. Brendan, 7, seemed to a have a little motor on the bike (anybody who knows him knows there's a little motor in his body). ZOOM.
Now, you just can't let a 7-year old take off down a trail. So, when he didn't respond to 'STOP' something had to be done. Luckily, somebody in much better shape than me (most of the world?) ran and ran and ran until they met up.
The rest of the course was mostly running for them as I was able to trudge along with a 4-year old girl who kept stopping if she saw me running (thanks!).
Everybody made it around the trail.
So, as the pain in the muscles continues to throb for me, I say thank you for running. There's no way I could keep up.
Next time, though, I'm bringing the bike.