Shopping with Kids…Adventures into Insanity.

Oh my words friends, I’m about to pull out my hair today!  (And after a horrible bangs cutting job the other day, I’m not sure I can afford to do my head anymore disservice.)

We’re taking a family trip to Montana in a few weeks and I am super excited about it!  I love the Southeast that we call home, but there’s something about sharp looking snowcapped mountains jutting out of the ground that just gets me every time.  My aunt has a house about 20 minutes outside of the west entrance of Glacier National Park and I’m getting absolutely giddy about this trip.  Nevermind the lap child on the plane from here to there, nevermind all the gear we’ll be toting along with us…I’m just excited for the adventure! (And with 2 small kids, undoubtedly it’s adventure we’ll get!)

Here’s a picture taken about 15 minutes from my aunt’s house at Lake McDonald back in January.

Oh my words…seriously, unbelievable!

So today, I spent over an hour calling around town to try to find a decent pair of hiking shoes for Tid Bit and something more warm than sandals for Little Bit as well.  I don’t want tennis shoes that I have to lace up, but I have to take something in addition to the Keen Newport H2 sandals that you already know I love.  I called about 4 different outdoor stores around here and finally found one pair of shoes in Tid Bit’s size 13 toddler (and they were on sale…SCORE!)  And wouldn’t you know, they’re Keen brand too.  Don’t know why I’m surprised.

Keen Kids Targhee

They are awesome, and he about drove me nuts running around the outdoor store like a wild gypsy child to show me how amazing they were.  Keen should seriously be offering a giveaway for me on this site as many kudos as I give them…maybe I’ll look into it!  Seriously, now that I just thought of that, I’m gonna call Keen Footwear right this second to ask.  I’ll let you know…cross your fingers!  They are awesome!

So then I was off to another store that told me over the phone they could order Little Bit a pair of Keen trail shoes in a tiny toddler size 5.  Oh my words, I’m not the person that buys hiking boots for a little bitty person to wear just for the looks of it (and generally I think they look hideous,) but these are AMAZINGLY cute and perfectly rugged enough for toddling along the Montana trails.  I can’t wait to see how stinking cute these look on him.

Keen Kids Alamosa

But the part that made me want to pull out my hair was when I had to find a good pair of hiking shoes.  I have an old pair of Vasque boots that just aren’t as comfy as they were 10 years ago, and I have a sturdy pair of Montrail shoes we got a few years back, but they’ve hurt my feet since we got them.  I wasn’t about to go to Montana for 10 days and not have comfy footwear.  So I tried on about 8 different brands and a dozen or more shoes, and shock of all shocks, I ended up with the grown up version of Tid Bit’s shoes.  So comfy and they’ll keep my feet dry too!

Let me tell you though, I seriously broke a sweat trying on shoes and chasing 2 kids around an outdoor store.  I was pulling them out of clothing racks, and stuffing crackers and lollipops in their faces just so I could find what I needed.  It was a reminder of why I buy 6 colors of the same Old Navy tshirt and 3 pairs of the same Joe’s jeans.  Shopping with kids is a pain in the tootsie!!  Fortunately I did find what I needed, but at the checkout I told the salesman that while it wasn’t a painless process (for him or me,) I was pleased with the end result!  So thank you to Half Moon Outfitters and Appalachian Outfitters in Greenville, SC for tolerating the chaos I brought with me today…and still managing to sell me something awesome!

Happy Friday! 

Ps. I’m planning something really fun to celebrate Memorial Day and to honor our soldiers, so stay tuned for that coming up too!