Avery new passion? Going on walks. But this is not your typical walker. She demands to be pushed – either by stroller or wagon (is it her chariot – at least we don’t have to feed her grapes and cool her with palm fronds – no, don’t give Avery any ideas) – and about half a mile into the walk, decides she must run. Great. Fine. Splendid. Until a mile or more from our home, we are stuck with an exhausted, almost 30 pound, 21 month old who just stands there until we carry her home.

Yesterday, she learned of the stream that lies off the beaten path… why? I thought it would be cool to show her… she does love water. But while yesterday Colleen and I just let her look and listen to the flowing stream, today I decided it would be a dandy idea to teach Avery how to “skip rocks” despite the fact that I knew it may come back to haunt me.

So today, for the 20 minutes, we stood by the stream and threw rocks and stones with all our strength into the mighty rapids of one inch water flowing blissfully – yet slowly – by. Joyous… Until it was time to go. Reminder to parents – always, always, always use your marketing and PR skills to spin “time to go” into your child’s idea.

All in all, skipping rocks was a blast, but note to wife: Figure out a new walking path, otherwise we are going be skipping rocks every single night.