Sherpa Pirate

Not content with merely being a Master of The High Mountains, The Kid is now also in training to rule the high seas.

The Kid directs Dork Boy and The Wife about the bay. Generally this involved going from one tug boat to another.

While the Kid is very excited to be on the boat and directing where to go, he is really most excited about the ropes. Because of this he volunteered to be part of the cabin crew.

The Kid is a bit dismayed at the clutter Dork Boy allows below decks.

When not organizing the many lines and sails Dork Boy left scattered about the cabin, The Kid was busy helping Gigi run the jib sheets.

The Kid explain to Gigi the importance of always keeping a hand on the jib sheet and watching the tell tails.

While The Kid greatly enjoyed his initial sailing experience, there was very little boarding and taking of ships(although The Kid did give several Tug Boats some very long looks) and pretty much no rum was consumed, so it could be a while before The Kid begins the journey to the Somali coast to take his place as the pirate kingpin.

The Big Brown House Mouse

Halloween was a bit tense for The Kid, T-Bear and Monkey. First T-Bear and Monkey were not allowed to go Trick-Or-Treating. This did not make the guys all that happy. T-Bear, being a bear, is a big fan of sweets, and Monkey is remarkably fond of costumes. However, given that the Kid was going to Z.'s house which was going to be full of a number of other kiddos, maybe adding a Monkey and a Bear was a bit much.

While the guys were a bit bummed, they were at least in it together. However, that changed when The Kid's costume was revealed. The Kid was going to go as a Bear. This little fact through the delicate balance between the bears and the monkeys all out of whack. The Monkeys and The Bears are by no means antagonist, but still that many animals in a small house, protocols must be followed to insure toes are not stepped on, and The Kid being a Bear definitely broke some of those protocols.

But before things could get out of hand, The Wife inadvertently calmed things down. While trying to add some whiskers to the fierce little bear, she managed to turn him into a Big Brown House Mouse. And Nobody is upset by a Big Brown House Mouse. Well except for The Kid who wasn't so excited about having to wear a really warm Big Brown House Mouse costume.

While unhappy about the really warm hood, The Kid did love getting to play with the candy bucket.(Wife's Note:no candy was eaten)

Sherpa Field Training

As part of Sherpa School, The Kid went through an intensive field training course. The Kid had to guide the motley crew of Dork Boy, The Wife, Gigi, Bilbo, Crazy Aunt 1, and Cajun Unc through the Senoran desert. No easy task, especially for a guide who can't actually walk. Although, The Kid is slowly mastering the art of moving by neither walking or crawling. He uses some sort combination of flopping, sitting, drooling, and sherpa mind power to move about. Its slow but surprisingly effective. However, this is not the method he used to get about around the desert(not so much because he couldn't, but because the resulting dirt ball would have give The Wife a heart attack). He instead used his revolutionary side saddle backpack riding method.

The Kid demonstrates his side saddle technique, as well as Dork Boys ridiculous hair.

As well as keeping his motley crew from dying in the Senoran Desert, The Kid tried to educate Dork Boy on some of the native plants and the basics of navigating on trails.

The Kid shows Dork Boy trail markers, and native plants, as well, as making fun of Dork Boys horrendous hair.

The Kid's instruction was so successful that Dork Boy and The Wife were able to go for a hike all by themselves. Although, The Kid did send them on a simple hike were all they had to do was follow the river. Dork Boy still tried to get lost a couple times, but The Wife kept them pointed in the right direction.

Sights from Dork Boy and The Wife's hike. Dork Boys hair while not as visible is still ratty looking.

In addition to the technical details of guiding the hike, The Kid did a great job of getting the group to have fun. This particularly was necessary with the shy and retiring Cajun Unc, but by continually bouncing every time he saw Cajun Unc, The Kid managed to get the message that Cajun Unc should relax and have some fun. By the end of the weekend, Cajun Unc really had loosened up.

Here is Cajun Unc being a little tense. Crazy Aunt is just being crazy.

Here Cajun Unc looking much more happy and relaxed after several bounce messages from The Kid.

All in all it was a very successful trip to the desert. The Kid did an excellent job leading the hiking party, and will now get to continue with more advanced training at Sherpa School. He has already moved onto proper food handling(most of this involves not mushing the food). In addition, he started his studies in wildlife identification by going to the zoo.