Ditch Day

Today we awoke to beautiful blue skies. There was not a single cloud
anywhere to be seen. In three weeks out here, this was the first morning
where there weren't already clouds everywhere, or hovering around the
mountain ridges, ready to spill down into the valley.

It was too beautiful of a morning to stay inside and do school. So after we
had our breakfast (apple-cinnamon muffins and canned peaches) and I got 2
sets of bed sheets scrubbed and hung, and all the clothes wrung out and
hung, I told the kids we were skipping school today and we set off on a
hike.

We set off up the mountain, on a trail we have gone on many times before.
The start of it was a mud pit. And very slow going. Especially with
Julianne and her crocs (note to self: I need to invest in some good Tevas
or something for her. of course, not a simple thing to do here. But I
digress). Poor girl! She was slipping and sliding everywhere. But she
was a good sport.

I had thought we might try to make for the river, but after a while, I
realized that at the pace Julianne was going, it would take a really, really
long time. So I decided we'd just go to where a little stream crosses the
trail. After hiking up and up and up, we finally got there. The kids
splashed around a little, and I had thought I'd break out the snack I
brought, but the biting flies started attacking, so we didn't stay long.

The hike back to the village was a lot better. Julianne still slipped and
slid a lot, but with the hot bright sun, the trail was a lot less muddy.
After bouncing along happily for a long time, and then taking a good nap on
my back, Elijah finally decided he was hungry. So I ended up feeding him
while he was still in the front pack, while also holding Julianne's hand and
helping her down the steep and sometimes slippery mud path. I was just
thankful that I didn't run into anyone else on the trail (not that they
would have cared... here it's very normal to see a nursing mom just pull
herself up and out the collar of her shirt to feed her hungry baby/toddler!)

We made it back home, covered in sweat and mud, but glad for a chance to get
out of the house and get some exercise. And tomorrow, we'll be back to
school.