Thank You, PO Smith!

Good Lord! Look how 11 days passes in the blink of an eye. For all you know, I went camping 2 weekends ago and never came back. For all you know, I went hiking alone and now am lost and wandering among the sycamore trees and limestone quarries of Central Indiana, dazed and confused from a bump on the head after a particularly nasty run-in with a rabid raccoon!*

But no worries. I am Okie-Dokie. We camped without incident, and it turns out that Noodle is a Grade A Camper & Hiker! The kids absolutely had a blast. They swam in the pool...they fished on the lake for about 5 hours one morning with nary a bite...they went for a geode-hunting hike and found some beauts...they cooked over an open flame...they made s'mores (which were excellent, I might add)...and they explored a cave. After 3 days in the near-wilderness, Noodle woke up and the first words out of her mouth were, "I don't want to go home today!" Who knew? I guess maybe we need to camp more...

*Those who spent time overseas on the DOD's dime will know that I know better than to hike alone. I might not have were it not for the info-mercials on AFN. I must have seen 500 times, "Petty Officer Smith" going for a hike alone in the woods without telling anyone where he was, and then proceeding to fall off a log and break his leg. He might have died were it not for a Friendly Park Ranger who spotted his truck. The moral of the story: When you hike alone, park your SUV where someone will see it.