Hike at Patapsco State Park

Since the girls had the day off of school, I decided to take them hiking to Patapsco State Park.  We went to the Avalon/Orange Grove Area and it was just beautiful.  There was a great playground and we did a hike along the Cascade Trail.  There was a beautiful stream with lots of cascades and big rocks to climb.  Plus, I packed brownies as a snack.  Toward the end of the hike, Gwen started getting tired and she got a little cranky. Something had to be done.  So, when the girls were a short distance ahead of me, I slipped behind a tree along the trail and waited.  A few minutes later, Gwen starts screaming "MOM!"  "MOM!"  The girls head back along the trail.  As they got close to where I was, I jumped out and scared them.  They both had a good scream and then just started giggling.  They just couldn't believe that I would play such a trick.  They were laughing so hard they could barely breathe.  Afterward, it was all they could talk about.  We made it back to the car with no more fussing.  And the girls have wonderful, fun memories of our hike.