Tick-isode!

So, we've been staying busy while Daddy has been away.  We found out that the "neighbor" cat doesn't really belong to the neighbor, she just takes pity on "it" (there are actually two), and gives it food... but it's super friendly, so we'll have to think of a name for it :)

TW built a battleship out of two boxes... during nap time, of course.  I asked him if it was actually an aircraft carrier, but he said no, it was a battleship... o.k.!

So, then I had the brilliant idea to take everyone on a walk at the state park.  Great idea!  I love being outside, they love being outside, we get along well in wide open spaces, and they take great naps on walk days!  So off we went.  Please notice Berry has tennis shoes on, both girls do.  We could not find tennis shoes for the boys prior to our excursion!  Also note, I had never been to this path before and had no idea what was in store!  But, we did find some huge pine cones!

We had lots of energy when we started...

... well, he didn't :)

Drat!  Just realized I deleted the pivotal picture because it was blurry!  So, we walk and walk and eventually get to Blackwater Creek, there is a little wooden overlook thing with benches that allow you to look into this ravine/creek bed.  Everyone climbs on the benches to look down and Mr. E loses his shoe... just one.  I stand dumbly a few moments... how am I, alone with 5 kids going to traipse down this steep, leaf covered slope and rescue the shoe?  I mean, it's not like he can walk the half mile back with one shoe, those are real Crocs, they're not cheap (even if we did get them on super sale, its the  principal), and I'm definitely not carrying him on my back (although I did end up doing that for a while later), with a 17 pound cutie on the front too.  So, I did what I had to do, I circled my little calves around the smallest one and descended the mountain.  Very carefully.  Using trees to help me slip down on the loose detritus of the forest.  It wasn't that bad... thank you Lord for giving me a bush waking kind of Dad and for having me grow up hiking in Alaska.  But then, I got to the top (shoe in hand), and what did my little peepers spy... A TICK!!!  I HATE TICKS (well, pretty much any bug on me)!!! I fling it off non-chalantly (while cringing crazily on the inside). No big deal, I think, we'll search later, compartmentalize, compartmentalize, compartmentalize!

So, we continue our walk (we're over half way by now), and get to a narrow, real-trail-like portion of the path... complete with rickety, narrow, rail-less bridge, a hill, and tons of tree roots.  I basically armpit carried a kid at a time (I still had Smaug on the front)... they were all crying because their feet were getting stuck.  Meanwhile I brushed 2 ticks off of Mr. E, and tried to keep up with our Engine, TW.

Then, we got lost... okay, not really, because I'm sure that if we stayed on the path, we'd have made it... eventually... but there was no arrow, and TW was leading, and so... we got lost and had to back track. 

Anyway, we made it back to the van, in the 6 pieces we started out in, and changed locations to eat lunch :)

TW had been begging for a picnic, so we picniced!

TW took this shot, he was chasing a wild turkey (literally, that's not code for a wild goose)!

After eating, I stripped each kid down, one at a time, tick hunting.  It was gross.  I found 10+, lurking in warm, tight spaces.  Then, once the kids were buckled, I saw one, out of the corner of my eye walking on Pretty Girls leg, and, I hate to admit it, but I spooked and slapped her (actually the tick), and screamed, which sent her into hysterics... it wasn't pretty... but it was funny!

TW was playing with the camera while I was slapping my child!

We made it home... I bathed the kids, and then combed their hair.  Berry had one at the base of her head, I pulled it off, it flew, I killed it with a plastic frying pan (which broke), and now that I write that, I guess I subconsciously got the idea from Tangled, J will be proud when he gets the story :)  Then, I took care of myself and found one tiny tick on my stomach, stripped off my shirt and found a huge one on my rib cage... I screamed, and jumped, and shook my hands, TW came running, I killed it with a shoe... I scrubbed my hair for 10 minutes in shampoo and tea tree oil and spent the rest of the day combing my own head at intervals... which leads to my FB post (if you read it) of wishing J was home to check me for ticks in a non-Brad Paisley sort of way (he has a song about checking for ticks FYI)!

So, there you go, that's the tick-isode... Now, see what the girls did together, without fighting?  Right after I took the shot, Godzilla (aka Smaug) destroyed it... did I mention he can Army Crawl anywhere now?

In Other News:  We live across the field from this pond now...