Getting down and dirty...

Our camping trip was quite the expedition for a 10-month old. Aliya was delighted to crawl around in the dirt and chew on pine cones and the occasional pine needle when mom and dad weren't looking. She does better now and since she doesn't put everything in her mouth, we let her do a little exploring on her own.

My favorite is listening to the big girls get so excited about anything and everything. Breanne yells in to the camper every time we put it up, "Hello, gorgeous!" They each put down 2 jacks each on the camper. While we were exploring around the campground, Breanne found litter (and these girls "hate litter!"). She was very determined that we should bring the pop can home to recycle it. When I finally let her do as she wished, she picked it up and started to empty its contents. When she realized it was full, she said, "Or not..." dropped the can and kept on walking.

On Saturday, our friends the Ottenbachers joined us (Toby & Karissa) and we didn't really see the girls after that...they were just off playing, coloring, wading in the creek. On Sunday, we hiked to Mystic Lake, "It's just 6 miles," they say casually. It may be a new tradition that when a DeWilde girls turns 4, she hike the trail to Mystic Lake. Breanne was all thumbs up when she got to the top. 

All the kids did great and we're super proud of them!

We provide an endless supply of gatorade to our girls when they hike. By the time we got to the lake, Madison was modeling a beautiful fruit punch mustache.

Aliya seems to love hiking. She rides beautifully and we don't hear her fuss at all. She even catches an occasional nap. She watched us use the "camel back" with the bite tip on the way up the trail and by the time we got to the lake, she was ready to try it herself. My, she learns fast!

On Monday, Madison started swim lessons. When I ask her, what was your favorite part today, every day is the same answer, "All of it!" "I just love swimming lessons!" She has admitted that Ring Around the Rosie and catching rings is her favorite part. Just now she told me we need a bigger and deeper pool in our backyard so she can practice her swimming lessons. Ummmm, dad...