Greening Sam and Avery

the rockies with our little ones

There is no way I can sum up this trip in words. Where to start? 

Well, I will start by telling you why you should take your kids where we went!

We backpacked in the Rainbow Lakes area in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. It was a bit tough to find a campsite that wasn't too close to the lakes but once we found one it turned out to be great for the kids. The hike in was super easy for the girls, even carrying their own backpacks. And the campsite was a quick hike away from several different lakes; lots of places to explore! 

And the views from anywhere in the area were just incredible!

And if catching critters is of interest to your little one these lakes are FULL of great critters. We could see leeches, waterboatman and caddisfly nymphs just be looking down into the lake. 

So the setting that Uncle Craig picked was pretty perfect for little ones! 

There was lots of family time, good food, exploring, cousin bonding and reconnecting with the outdoors. 

We did have a bit of weather issues...hail, lightning, thunder and lots of rain.

But knowing what has been happening all around Colorado we were all just fine with the wet weather! Plus it forced all eight of us into one tent for cards and games which led to lots of laughter and fun! 

*This last photo is taken from the top of Mount Evans which we drove up so the kids could really get a sense of what the top of a mountain looks like!

We had a pretty incredible time! 

To see all of our photos from the vacation check out my facebook page. 

outdoor play link up - some dos and don'ts of hiking with little kids

My girls are mid-west hiking champs. They can do miles of trail without a whimper or whine. But mountain hiking is a whole new beast for us and one that we are still learning how to tackle. This week we have had a few chances to get the girls out on some trails. We have made mistakes, learned, changed plans, gotten better and made some great memories. 

So, some DOS for the mountain trail: 

1. Do bring along a reward of some kind. There will be steep parts that will be really hard for little legs. Give them some kind of reward for getting through the rough spots. This could be candy (as simple as one or two jelly beans) or fruit snacks or something else that they love. 
2. Do stop more often than you normally would on a flat trail. Don't make them think you are stopping all the time to make them rest. Find other reasons; an interesting plant, a good view, etc. 

 

3. Do play games along the trail. We become found of a princess trivia game. We took turns quizzing each other on best friends of princesses. Example - which princess has a best friend that can change colors to match anything it is standing in front of? If princesses aren't your think you could play this game with superheros, animals, sports, plants, constellations, etc. 

4. Do set reachable goals, but even if those aren't met still make sure your kiddos feel the end of their hike is a victory of some sort. We had to stop mid hike on our first mountain hike this week but we made sure the girls still knew how proud of them we were and all the great things we had already seen along the way. 

Some DON'Ts for the mountain trail:

1. Don't underestimate how much difference elevation makes! It is a huge factor in how far little legs can go. 

2. Don't time hikes around what works best in your day. Time them around what works best for your little ones. We got on the road and when we didn't get to our destination as quickly as we thought we still set out on our hike. With no lunch packed we hit the trail at 10:30am for a pretty sizeable first mountain hike. BAD MOVE! 

3. Make them leave wanting more. If you push them too hard on their first trip out the next time you ask them if they want to hike their answer may not be the one you were hoping for. Start small and work your way up (literally if you are climbing mountains!). We learned this the hard way with our little ones this week!

I love that even though I consider our family very seasoned hikers we are still learning new things and constantly being challenged. More about our camping and backpacking later! 

This Week's Feature

Not many people think of gardening as outdoor play but for us watering, weeding, planting and harvesting are all just fun things that we do together in the yard. I was super excited to see another mom embracing gardening as outdoor play and her story is very fun! Check out this week's link up from Curly Bug - Digging Up Carrots.

 

Now On to This Week's Party! 

A few guidelines for the party...

- Any kind of children's outdoor play-related posts are welcome!

- If you'd like us to further share your post (e.g., on Facebook/ Twitter/ Pinterest), please just include a link back to this post (either in your post or sidebar) to help us spread the word about the importance (and fun!) of outdoor play!

- Please feel free to grab the Outdoor Play Party button from the sidebar and/or include a text link back.

- Each time we will feature an activity from the previous party. 

- By contributing you are giving permission for an image and link to your post to be republished. 

Share your ideas for outdoor play activities with us every other week! The linky goes live every second Friday at 12:01 GMT+1

 

 

fundanas on the trail

This past Christmas my mom gave me two Fundanas. The girls have been too young to really do much with them but I have used them before with groups through work. Anyway, Fundanas are bandanas that have either scavenger hunts or bingo games on them that are all nature related. 

I am super excited to pack the two that my mom gave me for our camping trip this week. A bandana is one of the most useful things (at least to me) on a camping trip of backpacking trip. It is a towel, washcloth, neck wrap, hair wrap, napkin, tie it up with rope and its a bag, etc.  So many uses! And now we can have them along as a toy too! With aunt and uncles along the girls may really get into playing a game or doing a scavenger hunt at a break along the trail. 

If you camp, hike or backpack I would certainly suggest that you pick up a few Fundanas for your backpack! You can find them on Amazon OR go to Imagine Childhood. 

outdoor play link up - preparing to teach on the trail

How can it be Friday already? This week has gone by so fast and I haven't posted nearly at all. Okay, that probably has to do with me reading The Help and the first book in the Hunger Games series. Instead of being on the computer in the evenings and during nap time I was reading!  It felt great to sit in the sun or outside in the evenings and just lose myself in a book. Sorry my poor blog had to suffer. 

Anyway, next week I am taking our church camp kids out to Governor Nelson State Park to hike, learn about the habitats that are there and just have some fun in the sun.  Before I can effectively teach on the trail next week I needed to hike the trail and plan out my stops, think about actvities and really get an idea of what I was going to do. So the girls and I headed out to do just that. 

Hiking may not seem like outdoor play to a lot of people. I have heard people call it boring, tedious, work, pointless and many other adjectives that make me sad. But the girls and I love it! 

We spot things like wild turkeys, 

(You totally can't see it in the picture, it is that gray/brown blob in the middle!) 

dragonfly wings,

snakes, birds, chipmunks, thirteen-lined ground squirrels and tons of other fun things. We sing songs, race along the trail, stop for snacks and water breaks. 

Hiking may be our most favorite form of outdoor play!  And Avery is now hiking all on her own. This is super exciting for both of us. 

If you aren't that into hiking as a family I would strongly encourage you to give it another try. Sam always tells me the best part about hiking is that "we just never know what we will see"! 

This Week's Feature

Here is another hiking post that I just love! These little ones got to use a simple tool to help them really explore "every nook and cranny". Any way that you can get little ones examining the little things around them is wonderful. We so often miss the small parts of nature. So head over to Small Potatoes to see how her little photo journalists explored the trail! 

Now on to the Party! 

A few guidelines for the party...

- Any kind of children's outdoor play-related posts are welcome!

- If you'd like us to further share your post (e.g., on Facebook/ Twitter/ Pinterest), please just include a link back to this post (either in your post or sidebar) to help us spread the word about the importance (and fun!) of outdoor play!

- Please feel free to grab the Outdoor Play Party button from the sidebar and/or include a text link back.

- Each time we will feature an activity from the previous party. 

- By contributing you are giving permission for an image and link to your post to be republished. 

Share your ideas for outdoor play activities with us every other week! The linky goes live every second Friday at 12:01 GMT+1

 

a walk my soul required

Since I started this blog (almost two years ago!) we have been getting outside almost daily to play, ride bikes, visit a park, draw with sidewalk chalk, etc. And on a fairly regular basis we have gotten outside for bigger hiking adventures. But for the past few weeks our schedule has just not made room for a hike or any kind of real time away from everything. Time just to be outside, surrounded by nature, and with no noise from traffic or people. I NEEDED to get away, even if just for a little while. 

So we headed to the dog park. Polly needed some time to run too. Or apparently she needed a swim!

And we were not prepared for her to be muddy and wet. To deal with the muddy we sent her into the lake! 

Then we really started our walk to give Polly lots of time to dry off. 

We played spot the bird, picked flowers, chased butterflies, dragonflies and listened to the red winged black birds. 

And I took the opportunity to get some cute pics of the girls.

And then the excitement of throwing rocks in the creek sent the girls running. Sam is just a little bit faster than Avery!

This was a much needed moment in a semi-wild place for our family to just relax and take in some fresh air! 

Hope you got a break this weekend and got away from ...well whatever you needed to get away from. 

a wonderful wednesday

Running along a trail in hot pursuit of great natural treasures!

Lots of native wildflowers!

Time to pause for snacks and photos!

Some playground play.

And then taking a closer look at Lake Mendota.

We wore these little ones out!

Awesome outdoor play can do that!! 

hiking when I have lost my patience

I have seen several other posts lately (like this one) about using outdoor play and adventure as a way to get through the tough times of the day. And I have to say those posts were life savers to me today. The girls did not nap. Which means no house work done, no computer work done and no real break or me time. This makes for a cranky mama. The instant I got them out of bed I told them right away we were going for a hike.

And it saved our day!

Who needs to walk when you can slide down the trail on your tummy!

Or your bottom!

Avery got to walk quite a bit today and she loved it!

Snack time on the trail!!

This hike got me back to being the mom that I like to be. The mom that can hold a hand when the trail gets slippery. The mom that can make up a song on the spot to encourage a sluggish 3 year old. The mom that can let the 2 year old poke along on the trail because each and every stick is new and exciting. I like being this mom!

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The Nitty Gritty!

Hiking may not be the perfect outdoor play choice for all families. If your kids aren't use to hikes then this may make the tough time of your day even worse. BUT outdoor play or exploring in some form is always a great way to break up the day, break tension and release stress!!  Get through the hardest parts of your day in your backyard and they won't be so bad.

you never know what you may find on a hike

Like an alligator wearing a bikini!!

Probably a geocache, but a super funny thing for a three year old to discover along a hiking trail!

We found another geocache while we were out and this one had instructions! Leave a treasure, take a treasure! None of them were really treasures but the girls found some "Cars" cards that they liked. And we left behind a family token.

It is an old keychain from my dad's company! Not a great treasure for someone else but it was really the only thing we had that would fit in the geocache bucket.

No, we were not out there to go geocaching but since we found the bucket we thought, why not participate! And the girls got a huge kick out of it.

We also discovered great views,

fun trails to follow,

bridges to explore,

good exercise for the dog,

and some great family time!

She looks thrilled to be taking a photo with me!

An awesome weekend hike!

How was your weekend?

 

winter hike with family

So, the whole way up this hike I was way too focused on making sure no one was falling and watching for birds that I forgot to get the camera out. But it did come out when we got to the top and on the way back down!

The sand at the top was just perfect for castle building!

We saw hawks, eagles, geese and a beautiful view from the top!

The way back down was VERY slippery. So what would be the easiest way to get down? ON YOUR REAREND! 

We had a great hike!

We love family weekends because we are able to share some of our favorite activities and our most favorite spots in our area with people that we love! Thanks so much for making the long drive to see us PawPaw, Grandma, Bailey, Parker and Grayson.

 

can I be a professional hiker?

I wish I could find a local job where I take other people's kids for hikes. Long hikes. Pushing them further then they think they can go. Challenging them and then helping them to meet that challenge. Pointing things out that get them excited and then getting super excited about the things that they point out to me.

I just love the challenge of figuring out what I need to do to keep them going. I love the excitement after a new goal is reached, a new hike accomplished or a new great treasure is found. I LOVE being their hiking buddy!

Today I got to be a hiking buddy. My two girls did just fine. Well, Avery completely melted down at the end because she got her glove wet. I eventually got her to stop sobbing. But our two other "big" kid friends that were along have not done as much hiking and with the chilly weather they needed some extra encouragement. I held hands, encouraged and pointed out fun things for them to see. And they both did great! They had fun and made it through the whole hike.

Our "big" kids leading the way!

We made it to the top!

And then headed back down to check out the river below.

We had a great hike this morning. And are really enjoying this strangely warm winter weather!

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The Nitty Gritty!

More on this idea of being a professional hiker....well kind of.

If a parent isn't interested in outdoor things like hiking, fishing, camping, etc. do you think it is important for them to find some other way for their children to have those experiences? You could ask the same question about music, art, dance, sports, etc. Is it a parent's job to expose their kids to everything, including the stuff that they might not enjoy? Or do we stick with the things that we, as parents, truly love so that it can be a bonding experience as well?

I work really hard to try a little bit of everything with the girls. But we certainly have a nature and outdoorsy focus to our lives. My girls don't take dance classes or art classes. They aren't very good at sports. Is it wrong of me to focus with them on learning and doing the things that I love? Should I be seeking out other people that are better at art or dancing or sports to work with my girls on those things? I do my best to introduce them to these things because attending classes for everything would get really expensive; but is that wrong of me?

I would love to know how other parent's feel about this and where you stand on the issue!