23 Hours In A Day

There's one day a year with 25 hours (in the fall), and one day a year with 23 hours (in the spring). The 23 hour day happened to fall on my birthday this time, and it leaves me wondering... Did I get gypped? I think not. Here is what the day held:

Every birthday in our house starts out the same. We have a breakfast of pancakes in the shape of the honoree's first initial. Every once in a while Todd gets crazy and spells out a whole word, as pictured above. He also did it once on the cat's birthday. Then, as the birthday girl (in this case) digs in, every other member of the family has to wait their turn to sing a birthday solo and say something nice about the b-day person. I particularly like my own birthday the best, because not only do I get to eat first, but I get to be lavished with praise... one of my favorite pastimes :) Wesley's serenade was my favorite this year, as he created a whole character and sang to me the spanish version of Happy Birthday. He can be really funny when he wants to (and sometimes we get to laugh at him even when he's not trying). Since Robben has not been well for about a week, he hasn't been eating normal meals, but we did toss him some pancake chunks and a little bit of peanut butter. This was his first experience with PB...

After breakfast, we hung out for a couple of hours (I can't even remember what I did) and then Todd and I went down to the Johnny Quik and got Subway sandwiches, chips and tea for everyone. We packed it all into backpacks, grabbed a blanket, and made for the hill. Any outing with 8 people is quite a production, so here is what Elissa did to pass the time as she waited:

There's a rope hanging from the tree and she winds it up and then flings rapidly about. I made her do it several times consequtively so I could get a good picture :) She was begging to stop.

At long last, we were off like a herd of turtles. I don't know if you can see, but way off in the distance is the rest of the family. Robben & Ally & I were laggin' behind... Robben has the shortest legs :)

I tried to take pictures on the hike up, but I think the only way to actually capture the beauty is to be up there. The hill is so close, but once you start the walk, you feel so secluded and peaceful...and out of breath.

Robben gave up walking. He had the easiest treck and halfway up, Ally and I were coveting his position.

Nobody coveted Wesley. He had to carry the mountainboard. Todd has this skateboard/snowboard type thing with gigantic off-road wheels that he takes up the hill and then rides down, much to my alarm.

I had to take a self-portrait, because whenever someone else takes a picture of me I feel awkward and... round.

When we finally reached our destination, there was only one thing on our minds... FOOD!!! Here is a photo of what it takes to feed the Hiester Crew. Todd and the big boys each got a foot long meatball sub and the girls and I each got a 6 inch club (2 foot longs split in half - $5 for any footlong baby!). And Sun Chips. Mmmmm.

After we chowed down, we stayed and enjoyed the sun, the quietude, the serenity. The little girls both commented at separate times that it reminded them of camping. They suggested camping up there, which I am opposed to for the sheer fact that I'm not willing to lug all that crap all the way up there. I prefer a campsite with a parking spot.

They also suggested going up for every birthday. I told them we should just go every weekend...why wait for a special occasion? Of course, I say that when I'm at the top, not when I'm walking up!

Todd and the boys went to ride the board, the girls scampered off somewhere to play in the grass or on the rocks, Robben played on the blanket, and Ally took up her post as the Sleeping Hiester. I later used her booty as a pillow, and a mighty fine one, I might add.

In general, we all just enjoyed the sun and all God's creation.

And no hike up the hill is ever complete without our pooch, Andy. Not only does he come up the hill EVERY time we go, leading the way, but I suspect he goes up without us on occasion. His first order of business was to find a cow patty to roll in. He made sure to actually GNAW on it. I finally had eye-witness evidence for why the kids should NOT allow him to lick their faces/mouths.

And Andy's not the only one who found a cow patty. Ally stepped in one on the way up, and Todd stepped in one on the way down. But nothing beats Robben's experience. I had taken his shoes off, because he was getting ready to fall asleep. Todd offered to take him from me, and rather than work on getting him to sleep, he let him run off in the grass in his socks. Naturally, he found a cow patty!

After about 4 hours (and I'm not exaggerating) we began the descent home. The girls and I took a short cut through the grass, but Todd and the boys stayed on the trail so they could ride the mountainboard. I guess you're never to young to risk life and limb. Here is a picture of my little boy in Dare Devil Training. He absolutely loves it! As soon as you set him on the board, he knows exactly where to hang on. Sometimes at home, he even pulls the board down and sits on it and looks around at us expectantly.

When we were almost home, we passed our neighbor, Doug, walking his donkeys. It's been a while since we've seen these cute little lassies. We used to see them pretty often, as they were little escape artists. The funniest thing is to see Wesley being dragged by a rope behind a donkey with his heels dug into the dirt. I like to call it Donkey Surfing.

And Robben got to meet them for the first time. He's not shy and he's not scared :)

The little girls got home a few minutes before the rest of us (I think they missed the donkeys) and planned out a "Birthday Surprise Fashion Show". Kurstin was the announcer, and Elissa was the model (complete with various stage names). Here are a few of the pieces they put together.

All in all, I'd say it was quite a full day, despite the missing hour.