hey, we're fun!

While in Mesa we left our kids with my folks and took their car on a day long date (thanks for the kid-care and the car, mom and dad!) We started by getting sausage egg mcmuffins, something that delighted us both because we never seem to get to eat off the breakfast menu. Then we went for a hike.

I was very explicit in my expectations from the start. I wanted a short hike, not strenuous in the least. But at a certain fork in the trail, one of us said we should go left and the other of us said she didn't think so. But we went left and the trail began to gain in elevation. It hit 93 that day and it was about 10 in the morning as we hiked, so it was also on the warmer side. One of us started to feel awfully sorry for herself, pregnant, hiking on slippery rock, in the desert, on a trail she did not pick.

The other of us kept checking in with the pouting one, but she was pretty silent and crabby. Crabby enough to be analyzing her crabby attitude while living the crabby moment. She thought about how if she were with anyone else on the planet she wouldn't be this toddler-like. But somehow with the person she loved the most, she was throwing a downright silent fit. She was huffing and puffing, making absolute conclusions in her head like, "I will never hike in the desert again. It's just not my thing." But of course stopping long enough for the kind couple they met to take the happy picture above.

Eventually the trail began to go back down the little mountain and she started speaking to her husband again and by the end of the hike they even kissed and made up. And then they talked about how much better they are at quick fights, getting over it, moving on. And that's a step in the right direction. It was all very gracious of her husband, who probably had also concluded never to hike with her again in the desert.

But as it turns out, the rest of the day was nearly perfect. We had a picnic at Canyon Lake. I have said it before and I will say it again, there is no meal I love more than a picnic outdoors. Ham sandwiches and string cheese become my favorite foods in the world if eaten outside. I am a very happy girl if I am dining outside.

Then we drove to Tortilla Flats for ice cream cones and a few gift shops, and then down a very steep and narrow and curvy gravel road to Apache Lake. We were listening to my dad's John William's Greatest Hits CD and listening to Jaws while eeking around trucks coming up the hill made the adventure just that much more exciting.

The views were amazing and we ended the day eating steak and french fries in a little ghost town. It was an awesome day. I do wish I could have pulled it together for the hour of our hike that was uphill, but we'll blame it on the hormones. And that I'm human. But the day was a blast. A good 14 hour date. On the drive back I told Rory, "hey, we're fun." For four years I have already lamented my kids moving out of the house (you know, when that happens in twenty years...) But on this little adventure I realized that's going to be a fun season too. Rory and I know how to laugh and tell stories and save each other from moodiness. Twenty years from now is going to be a fun season too. 

We ended the day by going to see Cinderella. I had already seen it once, but wanted him to see it too and he was game. I love that movie so much. And Rory said he smiled through the whole thing. It's so good. I liked it as much the second time as I did the first. Oh, and I had gummy peaches, a personal favorite candy. Definitely an awesome ending to an awesome day-long date.