Family Hike

Today we went on our first family hike together. After a slow start (we hit the trailhead at about 10:30 - too late to miss the heat of the day), it appeared that we would have a long trek ahead of us. About a quarter mile into a 2.4 mile round trip hike up the 400 foot bluff, Faith was already asking to turn around. "I'm ready to quit," she declared with enough force to make me dread the rest of the trip. Soon we realized a full bladder was to blame for her defeated attitude. (I must mention that she had relieved herself just 15 minutes earlier at the visitor's center - of course we wouldn't attempt such an endeavor without the obligatory stop.) A quick lesson in how to make due without modern facilities and we were back on our way. 400 vertical feet later, two very proud little hikers, mom, dad, and Benjamin (who had bounced his way up in the stroller) were enjoying the best tasting pb&j ever eaten! The hike down was punctuated with many exclamations of "look how far we've hiked" and "wow, we started way down there." As Faith and I neared the spot of her first "pit stop" she was amazed. "I can't believe when we were here on the way up I wanted to quit!" I told her how proud I was of her and she echoed the sentiment. We waited for Scott, Kate, and Benjamin to catch up so she could praise them too! A brief stop ("This museum is BORING, can we leave," announced Katherine) in the visitors center completed our outing to Scottsbluff National Monument. It was a wonderful time; the first of what we hope to be many such family outings. In fact, we've been doing some research and plan to hit the Devil's Backbone Loop trail near Loveland, CO next Monday. Care to join us?

Big Boy

Benjamin is very quickly becoming our "big boy" and no longer a baby. He is now nearly 20 months old and talking non stop. For awhile we kept track of his words and by 18 months old he was saying over 60 words - he's got to have over 100 by now! My favorite new word of his is "monkey" with lots of emphasis on the "key" and usually followed by the "ooh, ooh, ooh" monkey noise. He loves to applaud himself for all his big boy feats - jumping (his feet actually leave the ground a few millimeters now), helping pick up his toys, and pottying in the potty chair! Today after one of his accomplishments he looked at me and said, "Big boy? - me!", as he raised his hand in the air. He loves to raise his hand in the air to indicate he wants to be included. "Who wants ice cream?" Benjamin raises his hand. "Who wants chocolate milk?" Benjamin raises his hand. "Who wants to go outside?" Benjamin raises his hand and begins to jump excitedly. "Who is ready for a nap?" Benjamin scowls. He is so much fun!