I am so excited about what's planned to go down this coming Friday! Bryce did some scouting a few months ago and found great potential in a nice patch of woods that borders a small lake. He took some pics to show me what it's like and it is beautiful. It is much more public than what we are accustomed to as ATV's churn up the path somewhat regularly and it seems to be a place where groups of people get together around a small fire at night and drink in the woods. We have to drive there, so he has plans to cover his car seat with plastic sheeting. I am not sure if I will request off from work or just call in sick to guarantee that I will be able to stay home. We also have to set up an additional day of child care for our two daughters and unfortunately that will cost us about $80. It really feels kind of complicated lately and we have to go to all these lengths to be able to get messy together. I also ordered two items in the mail that I hope arrive by our date. We have always used this crappy tripod that we got for free. It serves the purpose but it is crappy and we really just wanted a nicer tripod. The other item is a nice winter hat with a pom-pom on the top.

So what came first? The chicken or the egg? The outfit or the scenario? In this instance I believe it was the outfit. At the end of last year's winter clothes season we got a few coats from Burlington Coat Factory. Bryce has always obsessed over me in the color red and we had been searching for a red coat in our price range for a while. We actually wound up with TWO red jackets that are very different from one another. I'll be wearing a red RocaWear coat that is casual and sporty. It has the R logo as a patch on the left breast in Navy and white piping detail, gold zippers and white faux sheep skin ??? lining the inside of the nicely shaped hood. {Rocawear is an American clothing manufacturer based in New York. It was created in 1999 by Roc-A-Fella Records co-founders Damon Dash and Jay-Z, and has had annual sales of $700 million. Wikipedia} It falls just below my hips and is cinched at the waist but does not have a belt. It's a "loud" jacket, meaning it's busy and stands out. I think the jacket will fair well and survive but I am worried about the white lining in the hood. That might cross of point of dirtiness that may not wash up good enough to wear again in public. I plan to wear it with fitted blue jeans and my black & white van sneakers, probably two layers of thick socks, bryce's UnderArmour leggings and shirt as layers for warmth, and a sleeveless ribbed black knit turtleneck that I have worn several times in the mud already. I wish it wasn't sleeveless but the neck on it is just amazing so I end up wearing it a lot. I ordered a winter hat with a bog pom-pom on top. It says New York and is red, black and white. Not sure which gloves but will probably need gloves as it will definitely be chilly in the water and mud no matter how nice of a fall day it may be. So I haven't actually worn all these items of clothing together yet, but I think it will look great. Bryce has requested very minimal make-up so probably just some water-proof mascara and that's it. Not sure what I will do with my hair and that will also depend on if my hat comes in the mail in time or not.

The plan is for me to walk through some of the mud puddles on the path while getting to the lake. I will not fall in to these puddles and will try to stay clean. I will just sort of test them out to see if any of them have any potential at all for after I walk into the lake. We'll arrive at the lake and my sneakers and very bottoms of my jeans may be a little muddy but I am otherwise dry and clean. I am going to walk, very slowly, into the lake until I get to about armpit level. I will try to keep my arms above the water as long as I can (because I've been requested to do so by my husband). I imagine the water will be quite cold and I will probably squeal a bit, especially when the water penetrates through and touches my midriff. Then I'll put my arms under the water and really slowly continue going in deeper until the water is about one inch over the bottom of my chin. I imagine that I might be forced to involuntarily float at this point, as coats often make one a bit buoyant. I'll probably dip my head under the water and swim back a few feet to where I can stand comfortably. Swim around for a quick minute, and then walk out and back to shore.

Hopefully, the WAM gods will be smiling down upon us and everything will fall into place so that I can get muddy in this location. If I am able to, it will be quick. We have been here once or twice before a long while back and the mud is gorgeous. Very smooth and no leaves. Beautiful light brown color. It has not rained in a while here and we are not sure what these mud puddles will be like. There is always the threat of someone walking through so I'll just roll around a bunch and get covered, take some pics and then we'll hike back to the car. Oh WAIT! I forgot that if I am able to get muddy I will run back to the lake and wash off quickly. This is mostly to make the least mess possible in the car.

Now, because I am a completely awesome woman, there may be more. After we get home we may pack a backpack with some drinks and head into our woods to the mud spot we have been going to for the last couple of years. It is extremely private and we can just hang out and take our time back there. We have learned from the previous two sessions there that it is absolutely necessary for Bryce to churn up the mud good before I go in. I got stuck the last two times and it was so exhausting getting out that I kind of just turned into jelly. The mud is very deep and the pit is massive. Bryce says that I can literally swim in it and that is my goal. It will certainly be a challenge as I imagine getting wet and hopefully muddy and then wet again in all of my clothes which will be heavy will exhaust me a bit. So I don't know if I will just be 'done' when we get home or if I will be up for more. Knowing myself, I will go back in because I just want to make every dream that bryce has come true and he has been dreaming of this. But it will probably be sloppy and less than graceful.

So, the worst case scenario at this point is just walking into the lake and getting soaked in all my clothes. That ain't so bad! Can not wait until this coming Friday. Will surely be a torturous week at work just trying to get through and fast fowarding to Friday.