And We're Off!

...to Slide, Iowa that is! Where is Slide, Iowa, you ask? That, my friend, is a very good question. For months now Tate has been talking about and asking to go to Slide, Iowa. For a while I got away with telling him it was too cold outside, and since we needed to walk there, his sisters couldn't go out in the cold (to which he always replied, "we'll just put on our mittens!).  A few weeks ago we went for a walk in the evening and Mike and I let him lead the way. He got to point which direction to turn at every intersection. Eventually we ended up back at home, which he said was Slide, Iowa. He seemed satisfied with that until this week when he wanted to go there again (it's apparently a pretty fun place).

So this morning he started packing his bags for Slide, Iowa. He wanted to pack his entire pajama drawer and his sleeping bag, because we were going to stay at the hotel there. When I convinced him he didn't need all of that, he packed 2 blankies in his kid-sized green backpack and off we went.

The goggles were also a requirement for the journey.

At first the route to Slide, Iowa was very similar to the one we took a few weeks back. He really likes hills, so any hill we saw, that's the way we went. Mind you, they are very gradual inclines, but when you are pushing 70 extra pounds (kids + stroller) and carrying 13 more in the baby bjorn it feels like you are climbing a mountain. As the walk got longer and longer, Mommy got tired-er and tired-er. I started hinting that maybe we should head down streets we hadn't been down yet....streets that headed toward home!

We ended up in a good friend's back yard to play for a while and then made it home again with two tired, hungry and dirty kids. When Daddy asked if we made it to Slide, Iowa, Tate responded, "No, they sold it!"

Wondering when our next adventure to Slide, Iowa will be!

I love the vivid imagination of my son and hope that I can foster his adventurous and curious spirit as he grows.