Well, THAT was Thrilling!!! {Day 9 - KY Intimacy Experiment & GIVEAWAY!}

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To all the little kiddies under 18 out there:

This is not a post for you. Please hit the back button, close the page, or anything else that will get you away from this page!

Sincerely,
ME!

 

Whew! Almost done with the KY Intimacy Experiment and I can tell you that it's been a rather interesting, invigorating, exciting, hot, and even relaxing experience. Now Day 9 has us being thrilled! This was a really tough daytime exercise for us - it took a LOT of planning and we ended up having to take the kids with us (making the "thrill" part a little less.) We were supposed to choose an experience that would get our adrenaline pumping. Suggestions in the Intimacy Experiment booklet included: skydiving, kayaking, white water rafting, and things like that. Those all cost a pretty penny and weren't something we could do with a toddler and surly teenager who had to spend the entire day with his family (GAG! - psst, do they still say that?) We chose the only thing we could think of...

In spring of 2010, our community had just completed a 2 1/2-mile trail that started in our town and ended at the nearest state park on Lake Erie. We really wanted to try it out but, alas, the bridge over the river that we needed to cross was closed ALL summer for repairs. We'd have had to add an extra mile and a half each way to our trip. With an 18 mo. old, this just wasn't going to happen. There was no way he'd have stayed in the stroller that long and his little legs and curiosity would have added so much time to the trip that we'd have gotten there and had to leave again to get home before the mosquitoes came out in droves. But this year, it was a little different. We put the stroller away early this spring - Little Guy is a champion walker and, really, runs everywhere. The bridge is now open, too. We had no excuses!

We packed a light lunch, towels (not planning on going to the beach - I'll explain why someday - but you just never know!), a change of clothes for everyone, and LOTS of water. FORGOT the camera!!! Now, beside the cost and kids issues, there was another reason why we chose this for our "thrilling" adventure was twofold:

1. Taking kids anywhere like this, especially a little guy who could go into full-on tantrum mode for any or no reason, was going to keep us on our toes. There is water everywhere, water with very strong currents. Water that is very easy to fall into. We were going to have to keep a close rein on them while simultaneously letting them explore. And that brings me to...
2. SNAKES! We live in an area that was formerly all wetlands before the darned French and English (and a few Germans) moved in and "tamed" it into farmland. Where did all of these snakes go when we humans pushed them out? To the only wild place left - the state park. They're everywhere. Black ones, grey ones, green ones, striped ones, ones that climb trees, ones that swim under the water, ones that sun themselves (looking EXACTLY like sticks) across a hiking trail... yeah.

 Now, I don't hate them. I know why there here and that they have just as much right as I do to use that trail. But these guys bits. Some are poisonous. Some will literally chase you instead of slithering away like they're supposed to do (whoever said, "They're more afraid of you than you are of them" was telling a bald-faced lie!) So, every little twig, every time I saw something move out of the corner of my eye, I was rushing to the kids' sides - just in case. I didn't want to frighten them, but what the heck was I supposed to do if one of them got bit? We were in the middle of a trail with no one around. I know very little snake bite emergency procedures - just the ones from old westerns and Indiana Jones movies! Plus, I really wanted the kids to embrace all nature. My oldest has a lot of friends with the "kill it then find out what it was" mentality that I am finding many people in this area have. I don't want these two thinking that animals are a few rungs below people - they're equal if not above us! (Hey, I don't see snakes creating nuclear bombs or tossing Slurpee cups into the woods!)

And, yes, we did see a few snakes. Thankfully, they were ones I could recognize and not any aggressive ones in the bunch. At one point, I even got past my own feelings (and planned to have nightmares later) and picked up a couple of small Garter Snakes for the kids to hold. Little Guy, my naturalist, was in heaven. My oldest did it because he was not going to be out-shined by a toddler, though his face clearly showed his distaste for the whole thing (man, I wish I'd have brought the camera!) Hubby was in refusal-mode. He grew up hating snakes, a long line of family had bred it into his genes to hate them. He finally relented after we all teased him. And you know what? He played with the poor confused snake the longest, talking about how cool it was!



After we had all showered, eaten dinner, the oldest (who missed an entire day standing around with his friends) begged us to let him sleep over at his friend's. "Wellllll, I guess so..." was all he needed to zip out the door with a pair of PJ pants and his PS2. Little Guy fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow. He didn't even wake up when hubby, who thought he was still awake, yelled to me from the other room about something. Now it was time to take our "thrilling" day and turn it into a "thrilling" night.

Now, the KY Intimacy Experiment booklet had quite a few ideas for us. Most of which, a-hem, we've done before. So we chose to do one that we used to do a lot and had forgotten about. Let's just say it involved a blindfold, a few pieces of soft rope, and the KY Intense gel (more on that on the conclusion post!) It was fun and, really was thrilling!

Here are more EXTRA ENTRIES!!!
For TWO MORE ENTRIES, answer this question in a comment on this post: Can you think of another "thrilling" experience that we might be able to do together that won't cost us an arm and a leg? It can be something that we do with or without the kids. OR - name something thrilling that you've done with your partner.
Answer the question in your first comment, then just type "Entry 2" in your second comment for two entries. Don't forget to leave your email in one of your comments.

You must have done the Mandatory entry on my original giveaway post HERE, in order to receive the extra entries on this post. I will add these entries to the original entries when I choose a winner.

This is open to US residents. YOU MUST BE 18 OR OVER TO ENTER! Giveaway will end on July 30, 2011, at 11:59 pm EST

*I received no monetary compensation for this giveaway, this blog post, or the blog posts that will follow. I did receive a K-Y Brands Intimacy Experiment package in order to fully participate in the program and tell you about it.