Trying out our Christmas gifts

So, as I said yesterday, for Christmas we got backpacking gear. YAY!!! So, today the kids and I went on a hike for 3.5 hours!!! Paul didn't participate because he's still recovering from a knee injury. Eventually he'll be out there with us though. :D

A hiking we will go... a hiking we will go.
Ryanne got a day pack and Collin got a hiking backpack for Christmas. We loading up the packs to get used to the weight and bulk we'll experience on an actual trail. We went a lot slower that way.

This was about 2 hours in. They had a great attitude through most of the hike! YAY!! :) We were taking a break here.  Yes, we were in the woods for 3.5 hrs but didn't hike the whole time. We took several breaks and had a picnic lunch and everything. The kids thought it was great!

This was at the same place the above picture was taken. I learned hiking backpacks make great back rests. :) It was such a beautiful day. It was about 50-60 degrees throughout our hike and the sky was such a clear blue. Absolutely perfect.

We were peering off the steep drop down to the railroad tracks.

My kids love the sand river. Unfortunately, it was after 4 days of steady rain. It was all fun until Ryanne stepped in quick sand and went in up to her knee. I told the kids to stay on the footprints from the horses that had already walked through there. Unfortunately, one of the kids didn't listen well. Her shoes were wet so she took off her shoes and walked the half mile to the van in her socks. LOL! 

Collin knew he loved hiking. He always chooses to go hiking on Mother-Son dates. This is why he asked if we could start backpacking so we asked for backpacking gear for Christmas. Ryanne has now decided she loves hiking too and wants to do it all the time. We may have finally found an activity the introverts and extrovert (note the singularity of extrovert since there is only one in our home) of the family agree on. Hooray!!!