Adventurous Dad = Adventurous Children

So, this has been the longest stretch of time without a word from Teddy. I don't think he will have much to report, as he is by himself, hiking through the last part of the Mojave Desert.  He is approaching Kennedy Meadows, which will be an exciting stop for Teddy, as once he arrives there, he will pick up a new pair of hiking shoes he had ordered, his ice axe, and a bunch of goodies from the kids and I.  It is our hope that all the Snickers bars and girl scout cookies aren't melted and crushed by the time he receives them.  Once arriving in Kennedy Meadows, Teddy will have walked 703 miles - only 1,947 left to go.  What an adventurer.

The kids are hanging in there, anxiously awaiting for Teddy to call, ready to catch him up on all that we are doing to keep busy.  They truly channeled their dad's adventurous spirit on Sunday, when they decided to go groundhog hunting in our back yard. Rubi, our dog, was barking at something that was under a piece of fencing.  Instead of bringing the dog inside, Dakota and Jagger decided to lift up the piece of fencing to see what Rubi was barking at.  Rubi anxiously waited in attack mode while the kids lifted lawn chairs, fencing, and planks of wood to uncover what was described as an enormous groundhog.  Jagger told me later it was the size of the gas tank for the barbecue.  Rubi was trying to bite it, it was up on its hind legs hissing at the kids and the dog, while the kids were totally freaking out, now not knowing what to do.  They surprisingly were able to grab the dog, and ran inside.  What they did not anticipate was all of the mud that Rubi brought in with her.  So, while I was out, now they had a muddy house, a dog that was freaking out, and a huge groundhog loose in the back yard.

via google images

I did not receive the call about any of this until after the fact - after the kids cleaned Rubi, after cleaning up all of the mud that got into the house, after all of the fencing had been put back in its place, along with the planks of wood and the lawn furniture.  Now that I know what my adventurous children are TRULY capable of, there should be no problems with the chores I give them - ranging from "empty the dishwasher" to "fold up the clean towels."  Any complaints from them now, and I will just send them back outside to hunt for the groundhog.


We anticipate Teddy calling in the next day or two - as soon as he does, I will be sure to report all that is unfolding in his adventure, and hopefully nothing else on the groundhog hunting going on here.

~The Thruhiker's Wife