Almost heaven

Two children back at school and just one to go. Not quite heaven but almost.

Today was the day of the Geocache. For those unfamiliar with the term, Geocaching is described as "using billion dollar technology to find tupperware in the woods." Basically, you wander around with a hand held Satnav, looking for a tupperware box someone else has hidden. If you like walking and love treasure hunts, it's a lot of fun, trust me.

Anyway, I have a particular tupperware box out there that I'd hidden in some tree roots at the top of rather high, very steep, muddy bank. Being a fully grown adult with a mild fear of heights, I'd struggled to get it in place and wasn't entirely happy with it. I'd also not managed to take the all important coordinates which would allow others to find it. However, I had a cunning plan, a plan that involved an 11 year old boy. 11 year old boys generally don't look out of place scrambling up steep muddy banks in the way fully grown women do and this particular bank is just off a footpath popular with Ramblers. Suffice it to say I had a few narrow escapes when I tried to climb it and wasn't risking my dignity again.

I rather think this is the 21st century equivalent of sending your child up the chimney to clean it. However, it involved mud, trees and climbing and thus was irresitable to SmallDragon1. Add to this the fact that he was doing it with my blessing and he was off up that steep muddy bank before I could say "You probably don't need to climb up there. Why don't you approach it from the back and slide under the fence..."

On the pretence of playing with my new camera, I was no help whatsoever as he complained about a number of things:
1) He was scared (Just get on with it!)
2) He'd got his foot stuck (Just wriggle it out!)
3) He was slipping (You'll be fine!)
4) He'd just dropped the lump of wood he was meant to use to disguise the box. (FGS!)

No, really, there's an easy way!

Still, hopefully I've got some good photos of him clinging on for dear life which will be a future talking point in the family album.

Anyway, he claims that this is now His cache, not mine, and it should be listed as such. I have to say he put so much effort in that I am inclined to agree with him and he can use it as part of his navigation badge in Scouts.
I did have the last laugh though as we got back to my lovely new car - he was so covered in mud I made him strip and sit on a towel.