Aaron and I have taken a lot of miserable walks with the girls. There was the time that we were convinced we must be lost because even at our snail's pace, a 3/4 mile walk couldn't possibly take two hours. And the time that one of us hurriedly left a hike carrying a screaming Hazel and leaving the other behind to slog back to the car with a sad and whining Juniper. And the countless whining requests to be carried. There were also a lot of fun walks, to be sure, but even the fun ones weren't easy with two pre-school age kids. We persevered, convinced that the way to wind up with kids who hike was just to keep on being a family who hikes. Short hikes, to be sure, but we kept on doing it.
And now, what do you know, we have kids who love to go for nature walks. These photos were taken on a mile loop that we finished in no time at all, with the kids full of energy and enthusiasm the entire time. I'd thought the mile would be a morning's activity; apparently my internal clock was still stuck back on that 3/4 mile hike where we weren't actually lost. A few days later, we returned to the site of our greatest hiking debacle--the one with the screaming Hazel. We quickly passed the spot where we had abandoned ship years ago; a couple of miles later, the girls were still going strong--running ahead and out of sight for long stretches at a time.
We won't be climbing mountains anytime soon, but give us a 3 mile loop through the forest, and our family will be there!
