River Hopping

Every day we drive over a bridge that leads us out of our neighborhood. The river is as low as it gets for this time of year. Every day I look out from the passenger's side window and the rocks just look as if you can hop from rock to rock, landing on the other side. So, yesterday I told Perry that I wanted to take the kids and try it.

Since he didn't want to load up the two canoes, he reminded me that I wanted to hop from rock to rock at the river. Silly man. It looked so easy from the car. hahahahaha

We parked close to the river and climbed out of the suburban. We hiked down to the river telling each boy to find a buddy to stay with. At first, it was simple. We hopped from rock to rock, never getting our feet wet. The current wasn't very strong. It was a beautiful, sunny, but not too hot kind of day.

Then.......................we ran out of rocks. The boys, naturally, plunged ahead not caring if they got wet. Pretty soon they were up to their necks playing with the current. Perry was thinking this wasn't the best idea I've had, but I assured him the water wasn't really up to their necks, they were floating on purpose.

Little Miss likes adventures. She likes water. But, the other day she fell down the stairs and scraped her forehead very badly. We really didn't want water to get on her forehead so we needed to be careful. And, the rocks under the water were, of course, very slippery.

We hiked down a ways, trying to determine where it would be easiest to cross. Finally, Perry decided we should go back to where the rocks had become scarce and follow the pattern. He carried Little Miss and I carefully followed behind.

The boys had already reached the other side so we had them sit on the rocks (out of the water) so we didn't have to concern ourselves with their safety while we crossed. To my surprise the river was cool, not cold and it felt like we were in a hot tub, with the jets spraying on us, without the hot water.

Well, it felt that wonderful until I misjudged a step and hurt my foot really bad. But, I figured the cool water would numb it eventually and if I could put weight on it, it must not be broken, so we continued on.

We had a really good time. Once Little Miss and M's lips turned blue we decided we should head back and end our adventure. Next time we decided, we would bring life jackets. That way, Mom and Dad could relax a bit and everyone would be much more safe. There wasn't a time when the water was over any one's head, but you never know.

Once we arrived back at the suburban Perry and I laughed together because lo and behold..................all the life jackets were in the back of the suburban from when I took the kids to a different river a few days before.