I love the polar vortex

I know it's cliche - but how bout this weather! I cannot get over the fall like temps we are having in the middle of July! I've been sitting on the back porch reading in jeans and a long sleeve t shirt. LONG SLEEVE. What?! I decided that it was mandatory that we eat all three meals outside today. Days like these only come around every now and then and it's important to enjoy every second.

We kicked off the day with buttermilk blueberry pancakes and fruit. Yum. 

Then we headed to the park for a hike and a picnic

 

Cheese, crackers, nuts and grapes. PB sandwich for the little one, and fresh squeezed lemonade. I kept the lemonade in a mason jar in our cooler. I hope no one thought we were drinking shine..

 

Someone LOVE riding down the slide. I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful week!

 

Hiking with a One Year Old

A few weekends ago we took a family trip to the mountains. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time. It was bug's first trip to the mountains! I think she loves it as much as we do. Unfortunately, she developed a double ear infection the last day so the ride home was a little bit of a nightmare - poor thing.

We bought a Kelty baby carrier for hiking on Craigslist. I LOVE Craigslist. We had set out to do a "moderate" hike, but due to snowy conditions in that area the road was closed. So what do we do? Go on a "strenuous" hike...

Once the trail turned to an entire sheet of ice half way up, we thought it best to turn around. Everyone we passed on the hike "ooh'd" and "awe'd" that we had a little one with us. Inside, they probably thought we were crazy. She loved hiking though, and seems very comfortable in the pack. We made sure to bring plenty of bottles of water (and a straw for bug) and snacks that we could all eat like Goldfish crackers and Nurtigrain bars. We decided when the weather gets better around here, we are definitely going to take her on some local hikes! It's something we love to do, and hopefully we are cultivating a love of the outdoors for her as well.