Ah... Friday. Nothing feels as good as a Friday afternoon. The victory high after making it through yet another brutal week is still surging in my veins. The blank slate that is the weekend ahead. So much potential. (And I don't have to pack any school lunches!)
Sage began his Friday night with a band-aid fashion show....
Then it was early to bed, in preparation for our hike the next morning. Forecasts predicted 75 degrees. No better time to hit the trails! Sam and Alison joined us. We did the Hewlett Gulch trail. A familiar and easy trail, criss-crossed several times by one large meandering stream. Great views of the foothills.
Only downfall in April...it's still a bit brown and dry.
Kale was hilarious on the trail. I carried him partway in my front pack. But he would get whiny and demand to roam free. He did his own little version of Hardcore Parkour. Purposefully aiming his foot for any rock jutting out of the ground. He'd do a little lift, the tiniest of jumps, land, and grunt a bit before moving on.
Such a tough guy!
Probably one of the best selfies we've ever taken!
I didn't even crop this!
Having Sam and Al on the hike with us was a huge help. We moved at snail pace. Often times actually backtracking, before progressing forward. But I don't think they had high expectations for hiking with a 1 and 3-year old.
Sage was well-behaved, and never requested to be carried. Kale did a lot of whining. And he fought me holding him. Luckily, the little tyke seems to have a thing for his Uncle. So Sam assisted often. And thank god!
This was about our half-way point.
We obviously like this tree. We've done this hike at least once a year for the past 3 years. And we always stop by the tree.
To your left: 2015. To your right: 2016.
On the left: 2014. On the right: 2016
Sage wasn't even 2 yet in the picture above. He was about 21 months. So close to Kale's age now (19 months). How time flies!
On the return hike home, we made a special stop by a riverbank, so Kale could throw stones, and Sage could dig in the sand with a shovel.
(Yep...same band-aids from last night.)
One trail. Two kids. Three years.
How quickly we've all grown!
(See Kale in my belly in the first photo?)
On Sunday, we made smoothies.
This is something we had intended on doing for a long time. What is the point of owning a Ninja if you aren't going to make smoothies?!? Am I right?!?!
I had no idea how EASY this was going to be!
In under 5 minutes, all of us were enjoying frozen blended concoctions. And the smoothie making would continue all week long. Breakfast, snack, anytime really...
The remainder of the week was GORGEOUS!
(Right up until the snow storm that is....)
But around mid-week, we hit 80 degrees!
(And that was in the shade!)
The yard is bursting with color. All the tulips are coming up. And I am rejoicing knowing that Spring is actually here!
This was also the Week of the Young Child, a national celebration of young children. (But I bet you gathered that from the title, huh?)
Anywho...the kid's childcare center always does a round of special activities. Everything from pajama day to bike day. And they host guest readers. My schedule at work didn't allow me time to go in and read to my boys' classes. But Matt made time. And how proud was I?!? What a super-star dad!
He read to Sage's class on Wednesday. And Kale's class on Friday. He even stuck around to eat lunch with Sage. And brought him a special kids meal from Chick-Fil-A. Sage was stoked, to say the least!
And now, a gratitude update.
This particular board was a slow work in progress, acquiring its items incrementally over the past couple of weeks. A bit of writer's block perhaps? But alas the list was finally completed. (And since erasing all this great stuff, I've filled yet another board with another list of why life is generally good!) You'll see that one next week.
I guess my gratitude comes in bursts.
Anyway... here's the late March/early April board.
