Another wonderful weekend under our belts. The trailer has proved, yet again, as our best idea to date.
The hiking was magnificent. The kids did REALLY well. Saturday, we all did a 4 mile loop, baby included. She actually walked a great deal of it, spending very little time in the sling or on shoulders.
The boys were in their element. Wide open spaces, animals, trees, fishing, and dirt. What more can you ask for?
The hike just about did Quinn in. Toward the end he yelled “I hate hiking”.
He was too tired to hike, but climbing was another story.
Dude.
The last 1/4 mile, Mia fell asleep and Bill carried her.
On Sunday, the two older boys and I hit the trail and tackled a 6 mile hike. The goal was to reach a large pond where the Houston toad lives. It is an endangered species, and the boys wanted to see it.
The hike was gorgeous, through towering pines and ferns lining the trail. It was up and down, with lots of roots to step over, but was so rewarding. I will treasure the talks we had. We talked about God, “the birds and the bees”, and about falling in love. I will tell you right now, those little boys make me well up with love and pride. I love them so much it hurts. They are so much like their father, and I am so grateful for this because he is such a blessing to me. I know without a doubt that they will chose the right road in life. I am sure of this.
We found lots of creatures along the way.
Frogs
Strange bugs
Nasty bugs
Upon reaching the pond, there were no endangered toads to be seen, but we saw one of their egg masses, which was very cool.
We also explored a beautiful stream that was filled with frogs.
The weekend ended way too fast.
We are home, once again…but that deserves its very own post.
You can click on any of the pics above to get to all of the trip photos.
Cool Nicole! Have a great time!
That looks great. I am actually going out there next weekend to camp. It looks like you all had a blast.
Wow iam so glad to see you back ….and iam very glad you and the gang had fun
Wow! Thank you everyone. You are all so sweet. We did have so much fun. It was a nice change from the beach.
You have a great family. And you make me want to go and hug my boys right now!
What a great family outing!! Thanks for sharing the pictures.
what vibrant colors….great photography. Great fun. Great family!
Just great!
Thanks Wendy!
Rebecca, tell your son that I picked up the scorpion with a stick and that is how I photographed it. It was a different looking scorpion than I have seen before. The kids are supposed to look it up and classify it. As for the block moth looking thing…even the park ranger didn’t know what the heck it was and could not identify it. LOL
Misti, you are so right…it is a lot of work, but like you said, it is so worth it in the end. The boys are getting such an education from it!
WOW!!! That looks like so much fun. Traveling with kids can be a lot of work but always seems more than worth it in the end.
I have been lurking on your blog for awhile, but I finally have decided to comment. My son, who will be five soon, says to tell you that these are the most nasty bugs he has ever seen…. followed by:were you afraid they were going to bite you?
What a cool camp out! I love the way you talk about your family – you are a great mom.