Oh, the weather has been so good to us lately and we are super grateful. After doing home church we packed lunch, snacks, and water and headed on a new hike with the kids. We drove the swag wagon up Mt. Herman road and parked at the trailhead to hike to the top of Mt. Herman. We were lucky to grab a parking spot just as someone was leaving. The road was already lined with cars. It was around 1:30pm so we weren't all that surprised that it was crowded. We passed a few families on the trail, but it really wasn't as crowded as we thought it would be. Madeline was such a trooper and hiked the ENTIRE way up the trail. She had help with a few spots where it was slippery, or the rock steps were too big for her to step up on her own. Each one of us took turns holding her hand and helping her along. It really was quite impressive that as a 3-year-old she could handle such an incline. Mike carried the kid backpack just in case, but she didn't even ask to sit in it at all. The hike was really fun as we headed through some great tree sections and some fun rocky sections. Eventually we popped out on top and the views were pretty spectacular. We found a nice spot below the ridge line to each our lunch and enjoy the view. Madeline was all about the chips and grapes. Everyone else enjoyed the other fun snacks that Mike packed. Grapes, brie, crackers, chips, and hummus pleased everyone. After some laughs and silliness at the top we decided to put Madeline in the backpack for the descent. We hiked down so fast it was hard to believe it was that short of a hike. The entire hike was only around 2.5 miles round trip. The funniest thing Madeline said on the way down was, "I can't wait to get back to the car so I can hold my blanket and suck my thumb." Oh, she just makes us smile. It's good to be outside with all of the kids hiking in the great outdoors.
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