Baby Hiking

We are a hiking family, it is the one  sport like thing that we both like, and now we are getting the kids involved too.  Princess took her 1st hike at Round Top in Honolulu at 6 weeks old.

 Buddy took his 1st hike in Pacific Grove at about 6 weeks, it was raining and since Princess wasn't even 2 years old yet she got to ride too.

Munchkin had her 1st hike when she was older, probably because it was January and really cold when she turned 6 weeks old.  I think her 1st hike was at 1st landing state park, she went camping at Kiptopeke State park at 6 months, so I know we went hiking in the really hot weather then. I can't find any pictures of her hiking.  Maybe I will find it later.

Scout had his first hike at 2 months old and hiked in Douthat State park and hiked lots in one week.

Now Daddy has started getting the kids backpacking and carrying all their supplies with them.  I will let him do that on his own.  I don't really need to do that one, day hikes are fine for me.

Scout

Scout really likes the toys in his bouncer lately.  It is fun to watch him.

Cabin in the Woods

We had a great vacation at Douthat State park.  We rented a cabin for the week since I wasn't ready to put all of us and Scout in tents.  It was wonderful.  The cabin was pretty small but had 2 bedrooms and was built by the Civil Conservation Corps around 1930.  They have upgraded them and they have heat and central AC. 

We still had storytime with all the kids, who went to bed late every night.

 We went on lots of hikes.
2.5 miles up and back to Blue Suck Falls,
2.0 miles around the lake. (pretty easy, but a long time on the road back to the cabin)
about 1.75 miles on the Tabacco House Ridge Trail. (very steep)

There were lots of little streams to cross.

 Scramble up the side of the falls to see it from the top.

 Play in the puddles at the bottom of the falls.

 Hang out in Daddy's arms.

 There were some cool features.  Someone had built this armchair out of rocks.  We walked by it the 1st time and only noticed it on the way back down.

 After hiking we spent lots of time taking naps in hammocks.

 Playing with Grandpa on the suspension bridge and wading in the creek.

 Catching salamanders and crawfish to examine.

 Enjoying the view from the top of Tobacco House Ridge.

It was a great vacation

Gratuitous baby pictures

This little guy is growing fast.  There are not many pictures of him here because he doesn't do lots of activities like the other kids.  He is totally involved in allour activities in the house and everyone loves him.  He has the cutest little grin, and wonderful cheeks that you just want to kiss.

 Even his little scowl is super cute.  He is wondering when I will put the camera down and play with him.

btw, Buddy picks out his clothes sometimes, camo is the color of choice for the boys.

Yummy Hamburgers

Check out the cool hamburgers we made with cookies.  They taste REALLY good.  Here is the link at Come Together Kids

Excuse the fact that our ketchup is pink, someone didn't want to add more food coloring and said she likes pink ketchup.

Free stuff at the library

We love the library, this week we happened to catch a kids program on the drums, so of course they had to try.  It was fun.

Love

I love my husband!  He is crazy and does things just to make me smile.

The backstory to this is that we had a bonfire the night before and as he was cleaning up he was teaching the kids about how to write with charcoal.  This was his demonstration.. 
(yes my kids are wandering around riding bikes and playing in their pajamas, even footed fleece pajamas with a winter sweater in 85 degree heat.  They did get dressed eventually.) 

Violin Group Recital

The kids also had a violin group recital.  They take a weekly private lesson and then they have a twice a month group lesson with other kids.  The group lessons they absolutely love.  They play with other kids and have lots of fun.  The group recital was fun too. It had an opera theme and all the kids did great.

Children's museum

They finally finished the renovation of the Children's museum.  We went on the last day of school to celebrate the end of school.  It is more expensive now, but it is still pretty cool and worth a membership.  Check out the cool stuff.
Tugboat driver, there are actually different sounds that change as you move the lever.

 The bubble room is reborn and the kids still love it.

 This was not a happy baby, the museum is VERY loud, and he did not like that at all.  I had to carry him as much as possible and try to cover his ears.  They need to invest some money into sound dampening.

 The bank has a drive thru with a cool car.

 There is a new stage with puppet theatre, dress up clothes, and Buddy's favorite switches to operate cool lights.

 The motorcycle is still there and now the lights work again.  (in all the years we have been before the lights have never worked)

 This was my favorite part, it is a pin wall and the kids loved seeing their shape as they leaned into it.  We all tried it several times.  This is the best shot of all 3 kids.  I love that Princess is looking straight ahead and Buddy and Munchkin are looking to the side.

 Buddy

 I even got to try... take note, if you ever go, don't go for full body, it is not attractive. This view is pretty cool.

Pinata

Princess made a pinata at school.  It was a good one.

We tried breaking it the normal way.  That didn't work very well.

 Then we tried using the wiffle ball bat, that didn't work very well.

 Daddy finally got a turn and he broke it open, as he hit it far enough to land in the street.

Memorial Day

I am being harassed by my sister to post some more stuff, and I have a LOT to post, but it will take some time.  We have been busy.

Starting with Memorial Day and Grandma and Grandpas house.  The family came and we had a great time with great weather.  Of course I didn't take my camera out until the last days, but somewhere there are lots of great pictures of the family and the extended family.  (hint..... please send me them.)  The kids went sailing and played in the wading pool and went tubing and kayaking and all sorts of fun stuff.

They got a lot of time to play with their cousins and family.

 This little guy was great all weekend, he likes to chill on the floor and eat his fist.

 The 2 big kids tried waterskiing but we determined they are a little bit to young.  It was a brave attempt.  This is buddy in the water with Daddy.

 This is Princess

Birthday party

We went to a birthday party, and while that is not unusual, this party had a pony, and a petting zoo.  It was cool and the whole family was invited, so no one missed out on the fun.

Buddy was the most excited and probably rode the pony 4 times. He learned how to use the stirrups and climb up by himself after the 1st time. The kids also got hats, bandanas and sheriff badges to wear.

Munchkin was very excited to pet the bunnies and the goats... She loved the fact that the horse was pink, pink bridle, blanket, hair, it even had "hair pretties"  She only rode it once and wasn't so sure about it. She liked to look at the pony, but not ride it. 

 Princess loved it all, she spent a lot of time petting the animals, and then she rode the pony several times. She did not need or want any help climbing up.  She managed to get up all by herself using the stirrups.

Scout spent the afternoon with me. I bought a new carrier to wear him and he is very comfortable in it.