Saturday hike

A few Saturdays ago, I was determined to get out of the house and move. It's been REALLY hard here to exercise as much as I was used to in California with my awesome friends/running/gym/dance class buddies. Seriously, it was exercise heaven. I have been lucky enough here to tag along with some ladies in my ward who do about a 5 K Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays at 6:30 in the morning. I would prefer to go a bit faster and longer but I'd rather run with people who entertain with conversation! Two runs ago it was beautiful. We run in this little ravine on wide hiking paths, littered with vibrant fall leaves, and on wooden bridges over a small river. The sunrise came up pink across the valley, so peaceful and yet energy-giving. Unfortunately, Fall is coming to a close, and fast. The very next run we had to use a head lamp for the first half and most of the bright yellow leaves are now a muted dirty brown.

ANYWAY...I always pictured our first month here full of hikes and other outings as we try to live up the warm weather here, but with Chris not able to walk very far without needing to sit or lay down, I figured our hiking days were over, for this season.


Then I realized, I could still go on hikes, just myself and the kids! Especially if we just stick close to home and explore more of that ravine right near by. So that's what we did and the kids loved it. I put Gwen in the hiking backpack and drove close to the ravine so the boys would last longer walking. It was fun and I think I'll try and do it a few more times before the weather gets ugly cold.


BTW - I love these close ups of Alec's silly grin and Charlie's smile. In Charlie's you can see where his front teeth got chipped when he fell down in mid-July. I was holding him with his arms wrapped up in his towel after swimming lessons (which.. I think I never blogged about yet! ...lets add THAT to my TO DO list). I put him down for a second while we waited for another kid and he tried to take a step but tripped and had no hands to brace him. BANG! right on his mouth/teeth. It wasn't very bloody but his teeth were obviously chipped and felt a little loose. When Alec accidentally whacked him in the face a little later that day and made it bleed much worse, I took Charlie for an emergency dentist visit. Nothing they could do really, but we still need to keep an eye on it. It could get infected and fall out or need to be pulled at any time in the following three months! So far, so good, although one tooth is starting to look a little discolored.