The woods are lovely, dark and they steal my keys

The dog is great. He is whip smart and compliant- a good canine combination. His only weakness is an insatiable curiosity for animals that he should really leave alone. Along with cats (whom he continues to terrorize but who are now getting wise to his harmlessness), we can now put donkeys in that category. He accompanied us to the pumpkin patch recently and instead of enjoying the pastoral setting of pumpkins and sunflowers, he spent the whole time whining and jumping, trying to figure out how to get into the donkey pen. Finally I made him wait in the car.

That is a long way to introduce a story in which Blackjack is only a bit player. Baby Monster is the real hero of this tale. The other day, he (Baby Monster) had a half day at school, so I picked him up and took him and the dog to the nearby national forest. Dog, boy and mom all had a fantastic time running through the woods, jumping over the creek, falling in the creek, climbing fallen trees, collecting pretty leaves and getting our leashes tangled around sticks (some of us did more of these things than others). Watching Baby Monster enjoy the freedom of the woods made me think that we really just don't have enough time to play. And even though I make spending time in nature one of our priorities, I vowed to make double extra triple sure that we spend plenty of time enjoying the outdoors this fall (and as much as possible in winter).

After a good long while, it was time to go get Big Girl Monster and her friend from school. As we headed back towards the trailhead and the car, it was at that moment that I realized that my keys were no longer in my pocket.

Hmmm. Keys. Car. Lost. Woods. Shit.

That was what went through my head. We had not stayed on the path. We had been to the creek, in the underbrush, on and off the trail. Those stupid keys could be ANYWHERE. I quickly ran to retrace our steps. No keys. I made alternate arrangements for the girls. Then slowly, Baby Monster and I rewalked our walk. Just near the end, Baby Monster moved ahead and called, "They're here! Here they are! I found the keys!"

He was the hero of the day, for sure and we were not even late to pick up the girls.