Hike@Glacier

Aaron took the day off to join the kids and I on a gorgeous (albeit warm!) hike through Glacier Hills park near our house.  There are lots of trails to explore, as well as a playground and even a sledding hill in winter, so having it this close to our house is awesome!  And although we've been to the park several times, this was the very first time that Amita hiked "all by myself" as she likes to announce about so many activities now.  She wasn't sure about it at first, but after our last hike where we were both carrying a child, we KNEW that it was time to get one walking!

Here's Ansel after the hike.  It must have been exhausting riding in the backpack the whole way!!

Here's another first for our family.  It was the first time that we've ever had a picnic together (since the kids were born!).  Amita had a lot of fun helping me pack the lunches and Mama was still able to sneak in a pudding as a surprise to her when we got to the park!

And Mama made sure to pack some summer sausage to surprise Daddy as well!  Our first picnic was a huge success and we can't wait to do more!!

Camping

We were without childcare for a few days due to a family emergency for our nanny, so Aaron and I took vacation days to cover it.  I decided to get creative and help all of us to have some fun while we were home, so I dug out a lady bug tent from Amita's closet.  She had used a tunnel that came with the tent when she was a baby, but we'd never actually set the tent up.  Let me just say that this provided not hours, but DAYS of fun for everyone!  It was the perfect diversion (especially since it was rainy outside too).

We read books about camping and roasted pretend marshmallows over a pretend fire.  There was lots of climbing in and out of the tent, and it was actually tall enough for Mama and Daddy to sit up in (not at the same time!).

Here's Ansel inside the tent.  Amita wasn't sure about sharing at first, but she warmed up to the idea!

Even the cats were interested in the new structure in our living room.  Azzy kept trying to burrow underneath the tent and Ansel kept finding him!

Amita liked to help find Azzy too!

Here's Amita wearing her camping backpack.  It is a frog backpack that used to belong to Mama.

She was very excited to wear her backpack around the house, just like Dora!

And even Baxter snuck inside when the tent was empty.  He was very glad the kids took naps in their beds so he could take his nap inside their tent!

All's Fair...

It has been a busy Labor Day weekend so I'm trying to update the blog on the go.  We took Amita to the fair and left Ansel with Aaron's parents. Despite the intense heat we had a great time!!

She got to see some big machines!

She really loved looking at all the animals. 

She didn't want to pet the pony, but we at least got her to smile next to him. 

We had all sorts of delicious fair foods: teeny weeny donuts, grilled cheese, fried cheese curds, a walking taco and more!

Amita didn't want to try any rides but she did enjoy this fishing game (her prize was the monkey in the previous pic!). 

And here's Ansel having fun back at Nana & Papa's house!

Hike@Pike

We took advantage of some cooler weather to take a hike at Pike Lake State Park over Labor Day weekend.  For the adventure, we decided to put Ansel in the front carrier and Amita in the backpack.  Even with the cooler temperatures, both of us worked up a sweat on the hike!  But it was a gorgeous day and Amita had lots of fun seeing all there was to see in the forest.

Here's Mama and Ansel taking a short break.

Daddy and Amita had lots of fun hiking while Amita narrated the entire adventure.

Here we are in the forest.  Amita was amazed by all the tall trees.  She was really interested in a tree that had fallen down in the forest and she talked about it the whole week after our hike!

Mama was very glad to get to the flowers at the end of the trail.  The parking lot was a sight for sore eyes (and legs) after lugging more than 20 lbs for a few miles!