Never Walk Alone

     We live in a neighborhood that is out by itself...most people in this city don't even know it exists and think we are kidding when we tell them how to get here.  It's a small neighborhood as well.  Just one circular block--I'm not sure how else to explain it.  If you walk around the outside of the neighborhood for miles in each direction is just mesa, and then way in the distance you can see some houses.  Our neighborhood is also currently being developed which means there are many many workers...including many working in the lot next to us.
     My favorite form of exercise is walking.  I love to walk...but I'm easily bored by my surroundings, so the mix it up I sometimes walk around the outside of our neighborhood.  I'm always a little uneasy about doing it without "Charming", but he always tells me not to worry.  See, I'm pretty sure there is an occasional drug deal going down ("Breaking Bad" anyone?)...seriously though.  Or at the very least some very shady characters parked on the outskirts hanging out in their car...next to another car with shady characters.  I'm making it sound a little worse than it is...but you get the idea.
     Now a little side-note here...we live in a place where "Ralphie" stands out because he is sooo blond and 95% of people are dark haired...and then about 4.7% of the rest of them are blond but nowhere close to as blond as Lincoln.  So, you know, he stands out.  We get stopped at least 3-5 times whenever we are out by people commenting on his hair and how cute he is.  So, you know, just another reason to be extra nervous and cautious.
     So yesterday I went for a walk with "Ralphie" while he rode his little bike with the training wheels.  We walked around half of the inside of our neighborhood and he wanted to go to the outer area to see "the fishies" aka a HUGE puddle (almost a pond, really) with tadpoles in it sometimes.  But as we get to where we turn to go out of our neighborhood I look up to see these two creepy workers hanging out in the driveway of a house that's being built.  They watch us for a few minutes which gives me bad vibes but I shrug it off and we go on.
   So by the time we reach the very outer corner of the outside of our neighborhood and are about to head to the puddle this old gray car comes driving up from the neighborhood slowing down as it gets closer to us until it's slowly driving next to us and these two creepy guys are looking at us smiling.  So I get MORE intense bad vibes and tell "Ralphie" to start peddling fast and I pick up my cell phone to call "Charming" (who is at home semi-nearby).  Well these guys come to  a stop behind us and start getting out of the car...so are grab "Ralphie"'s handlebar and tell him "go fast" and start pulling him while I walk as fast as I can, telling "Charming", "COME NOW."
   In the end they went over to look at the puddle and we ran home.  That may have been their intent all along and they just thought Linc was cute...or they may have had other plans until I got obviously suspicious and picked up my phone.  Because really...what grown men go to look at tadpoles in a puddle.
   But that is why I am no longer gong to walk outside the neighborhood without "Charming".

The "puddle" which is now 5 times larger than it was in this picture...also shows you how isolated we were when those guys drove up.