One of the evacuation routes here in Carnation is around the corner from our house. We kept meaning to hike up and it had yet to work out… busy weekends, other priorities, moody kiddos, always a reason. Today, the big kiddos, Melvin, and I went. And, with everything else Carnation, we loved it. Our mission was to find sticks and branches for our milk carton bird feeders, and also to find discoveries as the kiddos call them. I also wanted to tire out Melvin (dog has energy!). We headed out after lunch with a bucket and magnifying glass.
Every time I go hiking after not going for a while, I remember how much I enjoy going. It’s been a busy few years between two pregnancies, house selling and buying, babies, and well, there’s always something that comes up. I’d love to commit to hiking more… a summer goal perhaps.
The kiddos and I had a great time. They’re at a fun age where they talk non-stop and find everything interesting. They both found several discoveries they quickly packed in the bucket. And they pointed out several interesting things they saw: centipedes, slugs, fallen branches, silly looking trees, mushrooms… something every step of the way. It was nice to be out and about with just them; I usually have at least one—if not both—of the little ones with me. We were gone about an hour before we made it back home.
One of the reasons I keep this blog is for the kiddos. They know I post the things we do and will often ask, “Remember that time we went apple picking? Can we look at pictures on the blog?” And now that they’re asking me to take pictures of specific things, it’s even more important I keep up on this sucker.
At the start.
Discovery: a furry branch.
Further investigation.
Slug!
My hiking gang.
Bench #1 of about six.
Centipede!
A closer look.
Hiker kiddos.
Flower picture for Lainey Bug.
Mushrooms behind the bench.
Mushrooms!
Cruising along.
Looking ahead.
And with kiddos.
Pointing out a creepy tree according to Laine.
The creepy tree that “Creeps me out,” says Laine.
A fallen branch over the trail.
Mushroom cluster.
The triangle tree.
A yellow flower that caught Blaise’s attention.
Four branches in a row.
Not sure why they asked me to take this photo…
The pig snout trunk.
The rainbow branch above.
Tall trees!
Interesting branches.
A slug AND a centipede!
At the top.
Top of the hike kiddos.
Bench #4 on the way down. They had to sit on every.single.one.
Chilling.
A tree trunk with a mouth.
Jumping Raccoons 