A Couple Hikes

We have gone on a couple of hikes since Luke got home.  Luke and I have always loved hiking, but haven't made it as much of a priority as we would like.  But we decided that we need to get those little legs strong while they are still tiny so we've made the effort to get the girls out there.

The first time went really well.  We hiked to a sea lion sanctuary.  Unfortunately, it was the wrong time of year and we only saw two or three out in the water.  But the girls got to explore some big rocks and found tide pools.  It was a very grey day (not unusual for this area), but it was still very beautiful.  There is just something so spiritual about the ocean.  I love it.

For our second hike, we headed to the hills.  This one was sort of a disaster.  It was  about 20 degrees hotter there than at our house, even though it was only about 20 minutes away.  We have 65 degree weather year round and the girls weren't doing well with the "heat."  (A year ago we were living in Phoenix--65 was freezing!)  We timed poorly and didn't bring enough water or snacks.  I was practically having to drag Apple and Mango was crying.  "The sun, it burns us!"  So we only made it about a mile in before I called for an abort.  (I was hot too).  It was really pretty though.  And Luke, Strawberry, and Apple are going to be in a picture for the Forest Service.  The bench was new and they needed some hikers sitting on it for their brochures.  Cool, hey?  We'll probably never see it though.

We'll try again soon, now that we've learned some lessons.  I need to find a hat that Mango can't take off.  She's at that stage where she thinks that we're playing the "Mommy puts it on and I take it off" game.  Of course, we've been playing that game for months, but now she thinks its super funny.  It's hard to get mad at her when she is grinning at me that way.