"I Did It!"

There she goes! Tonight was the first time Kenzie rode her bike by herself. She started going so fast that I had no choice but to let go of her. I worried for a second she would get nervous on her own, but she kept going, stopped slowly, then turned around and yelled, "I did it!" There'll be no stopping her now!

Albion Basin

Happy Labor Day! This weekend we headed out to Albion Basin for one last summer vacation. Parker was very happy to see a small stream literally right behind our tent. He threw rocks to his little heart's content!

McKenzie showing off her new binoculars. Both kids got a pair from Daddy's work and it was perfect timing - they were constantly looking through them.

Check out the fox we spotted on our little "adventure" (what the kids call our little walks).

This cracked me up: as much fun as they were having, the second it got cold they both piled into the van and played on their Leapsters for awhile. It was especially funny because Kenzie had made a point of telling us, before leaving, "You know what I love about camping? Getting out into nature!" Nature has a hard time competing with battery-powered games sometimes...

For the most part, though, the kids were happy to be outside looking for small critters and playing in the dirt. Saturday night they even went to bed without complaint, but the middle of the night was a different story. We all woke up tired.

We figured the best vacation is one in which you know how to cut your losses - so we packed up everything a day early. The plan was to hike to the lake and then leave when we came back later. The facility map online had shown the lake was close - not so! Neither kiddo was going to make it all the way up the very, very steep hike. We got about halfway, then stopped in the shade and had our picnic lunch.

Lunch rejuvenated the kiddos just enough for them to turn around and make it back down the hill. (Well, I still carried Parker but downhill makes all the difference!) So, we never did make it to the lake, but more importantly, we preserved family unity by coming home to shower and rest. I'd have to say that made the trip a success!