Hiking

We were only on vacation for a week, but it feels like it's taken forever to recover. There are all the post-vacation necessities: laundry, grocery shopping, etc., and then there's getting back to regular sleep habits, daily routines, etc. We were thrilled to see lots of friends last week, though apparently I was so busy chatting and catching up that I neglected to get any photos. 

We've been able to get back to the routine a bit more this week, although today I really have no choice but to finally tackle the insane mountain of laundry I've been steadfastly ignoring. Yesterday, though, was an adventure... Sean and I both love to hike, though it's been tough to do much with little kids. Sean decided Maia is ready for some serious hiking, and last Sunday she climbed her first 4,000-footer in the White Mountains of NH. (Maybe Sean can do a little guest post about it? Hint... Hint... Hint...) I'm told Maia did fabulously, and she has been very excited and proud of her ascent to the top. Cecily has been very jealous and wants to go hiking whenever asked what she'd like to do. Yesterday was beautiful and not too hot, so I thought we'd try a little "hike." We went to one of our favorite state parks and went for a gorgeous walk... and I took 8000 photos. (Grampy told me to post lots of photos on the blog!)

The park encompasses what used to be a rock quarry. The girls were fascinated by this part of a scoop used for removing rock from the quarry back in its operational days.

Necessary break to remove rocks from shoes.

I was feeling slightly under the weather yesterday morning, so I let the girls watch an Angelina Ballerina until I felt better. They spent the rest of the day practicing their ballet, and were delighted to put on a little show for me on such a beautiful stage.

Tide pools are always fascinating, though these were lacking in cool creatures.

There is a very cool area with stacking rocks... Maia and Cecily had a blast moving rocks around, making new stacks, and getting really dirty. They were both very dismayed when after at least a half hour I told them it was time to move on.

I love Cecily's look of adoration as she looks up at her big sister...

Climbing trees is a favorite activity of both girls. They were delighted to find some small trees perfect for perfecting their skills.

Some final ballet moves on the trail.

After our little walk, we ventured to a very cute little town to explore and get a little snack.

We were all pretty tired by the time we made it home. It was a great summer's day adventure.