A Trail and a Turtle

Kenny and I have been inspired to lead a more active lifestyle with the kids since running the 5K.  This morning, after taking Megan and Carter to school, and feeding Ethan and Jacob breakfast, we headed to the Heritage Trail to take the boys for a walk.  The weather was great and we started out walking toward Rose Hulman.  The boys were kicked back in the double stroller, and Kenny and I were talking and enjoying the scenery.  We even saw a turtle crossing the path along the way.  Ethan thought that was great!  Kenny picked it up and let both boys touch it.  They were fascinated with the way it drew back into its shell.  I think the poor little thing was terrified!  After returning the turtle to his habitat, we continued our roughly two mile walk to the Rose Hulman campus.  We jogged a little, which the boys thought was great!  They thought we were going super fast, even though we weren't!  So funny!  Anyway, by the time we turned around to head back to the car, which was over two miles away, they both decided that they wanted out of the stroller.  The peaceful trail turned into a trail of tears and screams.  Jacob was trying his best to get out of the straps, and even lost a shoe in the process. (I found it!)  Ethan had some kind of attitude going on where he thought that it was appropriate to keep smacking Jacob on the top of the head, which made the screaming even worse.  Kenny and I decided to jog, then walk, jog, walk, and so on to change it up a little bit for the boys and to get back to the car a bit faster.  I don't think that we will walk that far with them for awhile!  The best part of the walk was when we were jogging and Ethan looked at me and said, "Mommy running!" with a huge smile on his face.  It made me smile to hear him say that, and I was thinking that I don't think that Megan or Carter could have ever said that when they were little.  I am so happy to have made a change for the better.  Hopefully, Ethan and Jacob will have fond childhood memories of playing with an active mom!