Backyard Bootcamp

So, yesterday Mom and I looked out the window to watch Dad mow the lawn and this is what we saw. Funny, huh? My dad was wearing a big old backpack while cutting the grass. For those of you who know my dad's love of backpacks, you might be thinking that he simply wanted to wear a pack. But, as we later found out, this crazy get-up actually had a purpose. Inside the backpack was a 40 lb. bag of salt. You know, the kind that you put in your water softener. As it turns out, wearing such a heavy load is one of the ways my dad is training for his trip to CO, where he plans on climbing a few 14ers in July. Because we don't really have any mountains here in MN, he has to get kind of creative in his preparation. Dad doesn't know Mom took his picture. It was our little secret, so he'll be in a for a big surprise when he checks out our blog later today. Oh, and Dad's crazy training gear made a second appearance last night when we all went out for a walk around the neighborhood. Our walk turned into quite an outing. Not only was dad wearing a bag of salt on his back, but we ran into Mr. Tom and Ms. Tricia who were trying out Mr. Tom's fancy new bike. In addition, I kicked off one of my sandals about midway through the walk but nobody noticed until we were almost home. So, we retraced our steps and recovered my sandal. But then, it started to rain so our walk turned into a run. Needless to say, Dad and his 40+ lb. backpack of salt got quite the workout. When we finally arrived home (about an hour later), Dad said now he understood what it felt like to be pregnant. Mom told him if he strapped another 40 lbs. on his belly, that maybe then he might start to understand what it feels like to be pregnant. It was quite a day! - T -