My New Project and Linda Vista Trail

I'm back!

The other day I turned to my husband. "Husband," I said, "I want to go hiking once a week."

"That's a pretty lofty goal." I'm not sure why he said this. Maybe it was because at this point I can't even get it together to wash the dishes once a week?

At any rate, this morning I packed up my two little gremlins and hauled them off to the trail.

You see, the other day I made a list of trails in my area that are under 3 miles round trip and by Jove I'm going to hike every one of them with these kiddlets. And you're coming with me because you deserve to know where the kid friendly trails in Tucson are.

...because you're good enough, you're smart enough, and doggonit, people like you.

Today we explored...

Linda Vista Loop Trail

*choir of angels*

How to get there

This trail head is just off Oracle Rd/Hwy 77. Put into your GPS "Pusch Ridge Estates, Oro Valley, AZ." (Maybe it's cheating, but we all know that's the easiest way to find stuff these days.) After you turn onto Linda Vista Blvd you will see a small parking lot on the right-hand side (it is just past a baseball field. If you've actually entered into Pusch Ridge Estates you've gone too far.) The trail head is on the south side of this parking lot.

The Trail

I picked this trail not knowing very much about it. It was under three miles and was "loopy" so I thought it would be toddler friendly. Well, not really.

Every once and awhile I let go of my daughter's hood so that I could snap a shot of the trail for you. You're welcome.

The trail was pretty narrow, probably 2-2 1/2 ft wide in most places. And as you can see the cactus is very dense. It comes right up to the edge of the trail. My daughter is pretty good at staying away from this stuff, but she's still finding her feet, so to speak. One wrong step and she could barrel right into one of that cacti head first. (Incidentally, did you know that cacti, cactus, and cactuses are all grammatically correct plurals of cactus. I will be using them interchangeably.) Naturally I was experiencing hypertension during this entire hike.

We kept going because we were there already and I was hoping the cactus would clear out a little. It never did. The trail climbed in elevation mildly. Then it got rocky.

Then it got steep. (for a toddler)

Here is where I gave up :D

If there were less cactus, or the trail was wider, or if I hadn't had some newborn strapped to my front we probably would have kept going to finish off the loop. But we didn't. I wasn't sure how long it was going to keep climbing before it started back down hill so we just turned back.

The yellow represents about what we did.

 I would not recommend this trail for small children, but I would recommend it for yourself, or if you have older children. It was gorgeous and I plan to go back with my husband and do a little exploring some time. As you can see you can hike just about as much or as little as you please in this area.

Linda Vista Loop (1 mi)-- NOT toddler approved.

Freeman Homestead Nature Trail (1 mi, 143 ft)

Agua Caliente Regional Park (3 mi, 5 ft)

Loma Verde Wash (1.7 mi, 7 ft)

Sabino Dam (3 mi, 10 ft)

Javelina Rocks (1 mi, 40 ft)

Loma Verde Trail (2.3 mi, 50 ft)

Mica View (2 mi, 50 ft)

Vanover Trail (1.6 mi, 92 ft)

Monument Wash (2.3. 108 ft)

Baja Wash (1 mi, 136 ft)

Camero Loop Trail (2.1 mi, 168 ft)

Honey Bee Canyon Loop Trail (1.6, 200 ft)

Romero Canyon Loop Trail (2.3 mi, 210 ft)

Gould Mine Trail Loop (2.5 mi, 400 ft elevation gain) 

Foothills Loop Trail -- Kartchner Caverns (3 mi, 478 ft)

A wacky birth story

Baby #2 has arrived! We finally decided on a name: Jonathan. And since people like to creep on the internet, and women like to tell birth stories, I'm going to share mine.

Just as background, I'm one of those pre-term labor people. Some might say I have an irritable uterus (it goes nicely with my irritable personality). I start to get contractions around 19 or 20 weeks and I keep getting them all the way to the end. My doctor decided not to check my cervix at 36 weeks so as not to stir the pot and cause me to dilate unnecessarily early.

And there was much rejoicing.

So on I went with life, la la la, and I hit 37 weeks.

And then I realized we were buying a house. I had to pack up all our crap again and get it moved. Enter my super amazing mother-in-law who you should be jealous of. She literally dropped everything to flew out to help us the day after we called her to ask for help.

We tried to convince her that it wasn't necessary for her to come the very next day, but she insisted. She arrived at 5 the following day. And man I'm super grateful that she did because not 12 hours later my water broke.

It was one of those "I think I peed my pants" moments. (I know you have those moments) I got up and went to the bathroom, puzzled about why my pants were wet, but my bladder was still full. -- Hey, it was 4:55 a.m., give me a break. I decided it would be a good idea to consult the internet about what it was like for your water to break, so I went back to my bed to get my phone. As I leaned over to grab it I felt an unmistakable gush. I promptly woke my husband up.

Because I'm an idiot and forgot I was Group B Strep positive we took our sweet time. What was the rush? I wasn't even having any contractions and nothing was hurting.

My husband was all "Do I have time to take a shower?"

and I was all "Pff, of course, I'm putting my make up on first any way." Then after letting my Mother-in-law know we were leaving, we were all like, "We should get gas because the tank is almost on 'E'."

As we meandered up to the hospital, the contractions were getting more painful and closer together. When we got into triage the nurse asked me if I wanted an epidural and I said, "

I don't know :B"

but what I really should have said was, "Yes. Absolutely. Get me the anesthesiologist RIGHT NOW!" because after the nurse finally got around to checking me I was dilated to 5.5 cm and then it was like she set off a bomb because, I kid you not, 10 minutes later I was pushing that little stinker out.

No epidural, no antibiotics, ain't nobody got time for that. The doctor barely had time to run in and catch the little guy. And you know, it's a good thing your body just takes over because in my mind I was all "No! no! no! I need an epidural!" and my body was all, "Shut it. We're doing this thing!"

So let's keep track of the lessons learned from this pregnancy/delivery:

1. Cervical checks are a no-no for me if I want to make it to at least 37 weeks.
2. Starting at 36 weeks all showers should be taken at night. 
3. Hospital Bag should be prepacked by 35 weeks, complete with it's own set of make-up to be done in the car on the way.
4. Also starting at 35 weeks no car should be allowed to have less than a half a tank of gas.
5. Remember, YOU WANT AN EPIDURAL! Only you won't know you want one until you're in transition.
6. Hurry those little nurses along so you can get out of triage and into L&D (so you can get your epidural already).

Now, enjoy a picture of this adorable baby.

Yo...

Had baby right before Thanksgiving.

Baby has GERD and colic.

See you in 2 months...