Spring Has Sprung

Here it is April 6 and we're just having our first nice day of the year. It was seventy and sunny and really just a perfect day. Even though Eli thought we should go to church, we sided with the devil and went for a hike instead.
You've gotta love self timers on cameras:


There once was a time that Dennis and I would go for hike for the day and plan on being gone for several hours and we could go a good 8-10 miles with no problem. And if I was carrying 30+ pounds on my back it was because we were going to be going somewhere fun for a few days. Well, we made it 2.5 miles today and I carried Sadie instead of a tent and a sleeping bag (not that Sadie or my sleeping bag weigh 30 pounds). Hiking with the kids is a whole different story, and(almost as) fun. I'm contantly amazed at what the kids can discover and what can keep them interested for hours. Here Sadie sat in the meadow to look at sticks (see photo above). I'm trying really really hard to be patient.

We found some acorns starting to sprout, puffed spores from mushrooms, found baby mushrooms growing from a log, and discovered this very cool blue beetle. An action shot of Eli running. It looks like he's running bases. And it turns out that the kids love picnics just like me. It's going to be a very good summer!