I know it's super trendy to make statements insisting that something is the best or worst ever, but this winter really was the wettest winter EVER. It actually made me super happy to hear that this was a record-breakingly bad winter, because it reminded me that it's not normal. I love the PNW, but the excessive rain and dreariness was taking it's toll on us all.
Given the extra rain, we have to be intentional about taking advantage of every possible opportunity to get outside and take a hike. One Friday, we dropped all our plans when we saw the forecast called for sun, and met up with friends. We were concerned about mud on hiking trails, so we decided to traverse a more well-traveled path.
This path led us right behind a local doughnut shop. The smells were enticing, and on our way back we decided to be spontaneous (not a strength for either of us moms) and stop for a treat.
Nellie spent most of the walk on my back, but I let her out for the final leg and she was so cute holding hands with her little buddy Caroline.
Another day, we met up with some of the kids and families from our middle school co-op and hiked to Franklin Ghost town. It wasn't exactly a sunny day, but neither was it rainy, so it worked out.
The hike up is tough on little legs. Aubree's friends spoiled Graham.
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| Audrey providing a lift |
We love spending time outdoors, especially when we get to do so with friends.
Isn't Nellie adorable in her rain boots?
One day, we didn't make it out on a hike, but we did meet up with friends to take a walk through the neighborhood.
Aubree asked if she could practice on her new roller blades. I didn't think it was the best decision, but figured she's old enough to make that choice for herself. The hills were tough for a novice skater! Thane was so good to her. He held her hand on all the challenging up and downhill sections. Of all my kids, these two have the hardest time getting along, so I'm counting this moment as a sweet and tender mercy.
On our last hiking adventure, we met up with friends to re-visit our favorite local trails. The kids love these trails because we let them choose our course. Things went well until we reached a point that was impassable because of mud. We turned around and began retracing our steps, but soon the kids were far ahead of us because we were walking at one-year-old pace (Nellie was on my back, but Jamie's son, Mac, insisted on walking). Jamie and I got to a fork in the path and weren't sure which turn the kids had chosen. Usually, the kids are pretty good at stopping and waiting as soon as they get out of sight of vision. So, we paused and called out to them. No answer. We yelled louder. Still no answer.
Our best guess was that they'd continued the way we'd come originally, so we followed that path, still yelling. After a while, Jamie decided to run ahead while I plugged along with the slow little people. She's a runner, but after a good jog up the trail, she still hadn't spotted the kids, so she ran back to me and we devised a new plan of action.
I turned around and went back to the fork to follow the other path option, while Jamie continued on the original path. Nellie didn't love being jostled on my back as I hurried as quickly as I could down the trails. By this time, it had been nearly 30 minutes since we'd seen or heard our six kids. I never got totally freaked out, but it was beginning to be a bit unnerving.
Finally, when I'd completed my loop with no trace of the lost children, Jamie came across them. They had taken the path we expected, but had moved at a quick clip for a long time before finally deciding to stop and wait for us. We had a "good chat" afterwards about hiking etiquette.
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