first hike of the year

We had wanted to go hiking today, a short stroll on Oak Mountain's easiest trail, and we were sad to wake up to rain. We still had errands to run in the cities north of here, so we headed out to collect boxes for a school event and to take Dennis on his much anticipated Toys R Us outing. He was armed with a 15% off coupon, a $3 gift card from the store for his birthday, and a $5 bill from Nana Gaynell and Poppa Jim, and his piggy bank to take care of his purchase. He intended to buy the Rescue Hero named Phil Canteen, and that's just what he did. It only required $0.98 from his piggy bank. He was presented with a birthday crown and balloon while there, and they announced his birthday over the store intercom, so he was given birthday greetings and wishes from many other shoppers.

Later, when we were trying to get him to leave the Dollar Tree, he suddenly said "rocket butt activated" and sped ahead like he had a jet pack attached. This was the second thing he told me that made me crack up. The first followed a long episode of break dancing and posing and getting down. His Gran told him that she was amazed by all his energy, and he replied "it's because I drank some of Mommy's Coke!". He did, indeed.

By the time we finished our errands, the day was cloudy and beautiful, and we decided to go ahead for our hike. We had SO much fun. Dennis acted as our ranger guide, leading us on the trails. As he got tired, he started engaging his "rocket butt" again and shooting ahead on the trail. This was a complicated procedure involving a hand motion in the vicinity of his rear end and a loud raspberry noise (the sound of, as he said, "my butt igniting"). And he fell at one point, telling us he "sprang" his ankle. Gran asked him if he knew the proper first aid procedure, that he should tie a stick to his ankle, and he replied "well, if you're a kid ranger, you should just get a Mommy ranger to carry you--that's the right procedure."

We spent some time lying face down on a little bridge over a fast flowing creek, floating leaves on the current and throwing rocks in to see the splashes. It was so much fun that I asked him afterward if he had more fun in the woods than at the toy store. He told me "I had more fun at Toys R Us. The hiking just weared me out!". And it did. He put himself to bed later with no fuss!