Hiking Love

We finally had beautiful weather to go hiking today! When I say beautiful I mean it was perfect! Slight breeze, cool shade, not to much heat in the sun but we still sweat plenty. P.E.R.F.E.C.T.

We woke up this morning and it took us longer to get ready than usual.
Chad and I woke up after the children had already eaten. (Well most of them - cereal is a marvelous thing!) So he got up and started cooking us some breakfast and I started getting children dressed in appropriate clothing and shoes. After some delicious eggs and sausage, I began getting myself ready and gathering snack items to bring with us. I soon realized we didn't have much that would survive being unrefrigerated for long so my pile consisted of Teddy Grahams and Goldfish. lol We could make a pit stop at the gas station. And Chad started filling the hydration backpacks. We have been so excited to break out the kids' new ones. Chad and I have had ours for a couple of years or so but we just bought the kids their own after a scary hike through the slot canyons last year and almost running out of water. ... Lesson learned! It takes a little longer to fill 5 packs instead of 2.
So I had the kids in the car. All the packs filled in the car. Everyone with proper shoes. Sunscreen. Snake bite kit. First aid kits. Wet wipes. And we're ready!
While I was getting ready I also realized I have gained a few pounds. All of my shorts are too small. Awesome boost to my self esteem later - we swing by Kohl's on the way out so I can hurry and grab some shorts. So glad I did though or it would have been really, really warm in jeans!
Also stop at the gas station to fill up our packs with some ice, grab some snacks and we can finally be on our way!
Until we are stopped. Literally. Road closed. Nice. Thanks a lot marathon runners who think they are so much better than the rest of us that they can close down a whole canyon until 1pm in the afternoon. Not cool!... Rant over.
So instead of going to our normal trail head we went to the back end of it which wasn't too far away and hiked the other half. With the kids we only make it halfway and then turn around anyway. And we've never hiked the back end. It was nice!... after we figured out which trail it actually was. Hahahaha I think we tried 3 different ones until we figured out which one it really was. There are a lot of bike trails on that side and we had to scoot over several times to let them pass. But it was fun.

You learn a lot about your kids when you get on a trail and have to do something hard like hike uphill in the afternoon heat. Luckily it was only 12noon heat and not 3pm heat but still. Chase (6) had a hard time at first. Whining drives me crazy. I tried threatening to not let him have snacks at the next rest stop we took but that didn't seem to work. Once we figured out the right trail for some reason he stopped. Maybe the "lost" feeling was just bugging him and he didn't know how to explain that.
Daija (10) doesn't drink nearly enough water. Ever. Even with the pack she wouldn't drink much and I kept reminding her to drink more and she said she did. But when I got home and emptied out the packs to dry them hers had hardly any water drank out of it. Collin (3) is still good at dawdling. Which means by the time we found which way we needed to go to get to the correct trail he was sitting on Daddy's shoulders with Daddy's hat on. Lucky duck. hahaha He had a lot of fun throwing rocks though and walked as much as he could. The fun part is that he loves it and I am excited to see him grow to enjoy being outside and help us plan hiking trips his whole life. Kyla (8) is our little trooper. She used to complain a lot, kinda like Chase now, but now she puts her head down and marches on! She sticks to Daddy like glue and never gets behind. She hikes harder, farther, and faster than the other kids and never complains. It's a wonder to watch because she's quite the drama queen at home and emotional. When we came to a "stopping" point near the time we had to quit for the other children she and Chad wanted to keep going for a little while. I stayed with the other three chillins and she and Chad kept hiking for probably another half mile (both ways). They made it up the hill to a pretty nice canopy that was shaded and beautiful. Chad absolutely loves that she is willing to keep going and be his little hiking buddy! They even have the selfie to prove it. :)

Although it's a bit of work to get prepared to go, frustrating when the trail you want is closed off, and another bit of work to clean it all up after you get home - including showering 4 filthy children - I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love summer. It is probably my favorite thing about summer. I love teaching my children about the plants along the way (no I'm not an expert but I'm learning while we're up there too). I love teaching them about how to be safe around snakes, even though it is something that worries me and scares them a little to talk about while we're hiking. I'd rather them know than keep them in the dark. I love hearing Daija ask if she can get a pocket knife so she feels safer and more in control while we're up in nature.

I think we're going to buy walkie talkies for our next hike next week. That will be a fun one! :)