Sydney was away for several trips this spring, so the kids and I took off for local hikes before the weather turned hot; today, and for the foreseeable future, Kentucky is predicted to be in the high eighties and humid. In March, we hiked up and down the Jessamine Creek Gorge (and along the creek), and, in the last picture, enjoyed the view from the lookout at Tom Dorman State Nature Preserve.
I have not done a lot of hiking with the kids by myself before, but their legs are getting longer and everyone can now carry his or her own water/gear. They also get that collapsing or despairing mid-hike is not going to save them; I can no longer carry them out! I measured the kids today, and Nathaniel (8) is 4′ 6 1/2″ and Katherine (10) is 5.’ They both wear adult shoe sizes, and Nathaniel inherits my sneakers for play shoes. All of that growth has now made them fun hiking buddies.
Part of the reason for our lack of blogging this spring is sheer busy-ness (more on that later), but part of it is also that the kids are getting old enough to spend significant time cooking, hiking, and farming with us. That’s been a lot of fun! They’ve also really gotten into read-aloud time in the evenings (we’ve worked our way through a lot of books that way) and, surprisingly, picking pieces out of the Mennonite Hymnal to sing together. Now we’ll have to see what non-stop together time this summer does to our family dynamic.
Erin
Alan Schmierer