* Quirky Quotes

Although this post has the title indicating it has what I would consider a cool kid quote - the quote is at the very end - so hang with me for a few minutes.

Instead of spending our Saturday the way we usually do, with multiple questions of "what are we doing today?", recycling, trips to Lowe's or Home Depot, and other random home tasks such as emptying the shoe basket or cleaning out my son's closet (again!!!) we packed the kids up and headed to the Smokies. We embarked on a rather ambitious hike to a waterfall with a 5 mile round trip distance. We called it an adventure and used up our entire day. At the end of another Saturday I can say we did not waste it in trivial tasks. These are some of the things we discovered on our trip.

• A first grade boy can hike for five miles up and down (six times) all by himself without being carried, while a 3 year old girl will require carrying between the the 3.5 to 4.5 miles points during which she will get a power nap and become recharged and very hungry.
• A centipede in the wild is super cool. We got to talk about exoskeletons and that some bugs other than bees and spiders do bite and sting. And on that note....
• Horseflies are apparently territorial and prone to chase and attack the oldest female member of the hiking party. I walked through this territory on the way to the falls and found the horsefly annoyingly persistent until we finally walked out of an invisible barrier. On the way back it landed on my hiking pants and offered us an opportunity to show our son how it would try to bite you(we could actually see its pointed evil little mouth(?) trying repeatedly to get something from the fabric methodically moving around until shaken off) After our lesson it persisted in chasing only me for quite some time, even when I ran (to the amusement of many I am sure). It finally did get one bite THROUGH MY SHIRT before I passed the invisible border again. Judah suggested I smelt good but David tested my arm and said not so much.
• Snake skins in the wild are even cooler than centipedes.
• Boys, big and little, always need to go potty on a hike of five miles, little 3 year old girls need to go twice. Older adult females can just hold it.
• Leaves in the hands of little boys can feel startlingly like bugs on your neck when unexpected.
• When mom squeals once it only reinforces the action and she will be pestered with leaves for the remainder of the hike.
• Rocks on the path are fascinating and need only some sticks and twine to become spears. Luckily we did not pack any twine.
• Without ready twine rocks will be placed in dad's backpack to be taken home.
• Despite all the fascinating things we saw and did what a small boy will remmeber most is "running for our lives" from a horsefly.
• Hiking the day away is a much better use of a Saturday than watching TV.

Now for the quote...........During this hike my son turns to me and shows me a spit bubble he has created and is holding in his mouth. I say "Nice" and he proceeds to tell me he can also make one with snot. "No thank you" I say. After several more enticing comments in favor of the snot bubble I again say

"No"

"Why not?"

"Because that is yuck"

(Pause) "Yuck is goooooooooood"

Yuck.