Hansel and Grettling our kids

Last year on a vacation to Southern Utah in search of some beautiful arches, we found ourselves in a bit of a pickle. 

My son was too big to carry in the baby backpack, but not quite big enough to do as much hiking as we had done that particular day. Within 1 mile of the car he just stopped and refused to take another step forward.

We tried piggy backing him, switching off with each other and promising long rests if he could just go a bit further. Our efforts were to no avail. Then it hit us.

Why not "Hansel and Grettle" him back to the car? 

We had some licorice nips with us (it was our lucky moment of the day), and with the nips in hand, my husband set out ahead of us. He left the licorice on rocks along the trail. As soon as my son realized that he could hunt for treasure along the way and eat it when he found it....our problem vanished. He had a renewed energy and we made it back to the car. We lovingly refer to this as

"Hansel and Grettling our children".

After this experience we never leave on a hike or other physical activity without a snack in our packs....

...just in case! 

Happy hiking :)