#BFF Brainard Family Fun

I've been gone for a while, guys! School let out and things got crazy! We actually picked up the kids from school on the last day and headed straight down to Asheville, NC for a family reunion. We've done this reunion twice before and each time it has gotten more fun. I especially love watching my kids play with all my cousins' kids just like they've known each other forever!

We arrived after dinner on Friday night and, of course, the kids wanted to go straight to the pool. We let them since they'd been in the van all day and they swam until 10 PM. We got up early the next morning, since kids are incapable of sleeping in (unless it's a school day).

My favorite sandwich place. And we don't have them around here!

Saturday was spent at a nearby lake, talking, NOT wading in the water, fishing, and going for a paddle boat ride. We also had a nice cookout and lots of family time. Back to the pool for some down time and then Saturday evening found us in downtown Asheville taking over a pizza restaurant and watching street performers.

Sunday morning we went to Mass at the Basilica of St. Lawrence and then wandered around downtown a bit more before heading out to find some local artisans. There weren't any artists out on a Sunday, but we did get to watch some glass blowing and chat with the guy.

Sunday evening we had a big family dinner and heard some family history from my Uncle Larry. It was interesting information that I wish I'd had when I had to do a family tree project in 7th grade. The even better news is that there is a PDF copy of all the info that I can have and keep on hand for whenever my kids have to do a similar project.

Monday morning was a slow one that we used to pack up all our stuff and get ready for the trip home. We had one last luncheon together before everyone headed their separate ways. We had hoped the kids would sleep on the way home, but we made a few stops and they didn't really get the chance.

We stopped in Tennessee just to say we'd stopped in Tennessee. Then just inside the Virginia border, Ken had to go to Cabela's. The kids loved looking at all the animals inside, especially the fish tank.

He said he was picking out dinner!

We stopped for dinner near Wytheville and made it home late Monday night. It was a long trip with lots of driving, but the family tome together made it absolutely worth it!

Our Family's Prayer Box

Our evening routine has gotten to be one of my favorite times of day. Not because it means it's almost bed time, but because of all the pieces that come together and how much the kids enjoy it. We've been working on and tweaking this routine for quite some time and I think we've gotten it down pretty well. The kids know what to expect and are actually disappointed if any part of this routine doesn't happen as planned.

My aim is to have dinner on the table at 6 each night. It doesn't always work that way, but it's a good goal to aim for. My children are slow eaters and most of the time that's okay. They like to talk a lot during dinner too. Some nights I have to hurry them along and some nights, I just let it go.

They know however, that at 7, the focus changes. If they aren't finished eating by 7, they won't get a piece of candy after dinner. That's usually enough incentive to get them moving! Seven is when they need to start getting ready for bed. This means getting on pajamas, baths or showers, washing faces, brushing teeth and combing hair. It also means getting backpacks and lunches ready for the next day, if we didn't already do that earlier.

Once they've got their evening responsibilities taken care of, they are free to play, read, or color until 7:45. They are also allowed some screen time if they've had a good day. The boys have a game called Dragon City they like to play and like good little dragon daddies, they need to check on things before they go to bed!

At 7:45 my phone alarm goes off and everyone knows to head to my room. We all climb up in the bed and get comfy and it's time for reading. We just started Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Frances has read the books before (as have I) but this is the first go 'round for the boys. They love it!! Henry makes the best predictions based on what's going on. Then Benjamin makes funny predictions based on things we've already read. For example, one night at the end of Prisoner of Azkaban, Benjamin sat up suddenly and said, "MOMMY! I think I know who sent Harry that broom! It was Sirius!!" Then we all try not to laugh, because we already read that part!

At 8ish, I have to find a good stopping place and we then finish the night with our prayers. The kids take turns leading prayers, both at dinner and at bedtime. For bedtime, we have a prayer box. In this box are lots of prayer cards, pamphlets, encouragement cards, a list of prayer requests, and our deck of Happy Saints cards.  Each night, the prayer leader picks out a few items to read and adds in a few other prayers from his or her heart. After prayers, I use our lavender oil to give each kid a back rub before bed.

I initially started out drawing pictures on their backs with the oil. Then I realized I was praying for each child individually, so I started writing out my prayers. Most nights it's just a word, usually one of the gifts of the spirit. I write it out, and rub it in as I pray that word over my child. One of them needs self-control, one of them needs patience and kindness, and one of them has been alternating between peace and joy.

Once they started recognizing that I was writing words on them, I confessed my intent and now they try to guess which word I've written each night. They also know they can keep it private if they want to. The lavender helps them sleep and the prayers help them grow. Then I can send them off to dreamland with a kiss and a tucked blanket.

As we enter this Easter season, are there any prayer requests from you that I can add to our box? You can leave them in the comments or email them to me privately. I hope you have a blessed Easter season!

My Favorite Summer Memory

Today is the last day of school!! My kids have had a great year and they are full of all kinds of new knowledge. At the same time, they are excited for summer break and the chance to live life a little more laid back for a while. It won't be completely laid back, though, because my husband and I both work full time. 

Benjamin is going to stick with day care for the summer because it's an environment that he's familiar with and he enjoys it. Frances and Henry have a variety of summer camps scheduled. It's a lot of planning and juggling, but it covers most of our childcare needs and it's fun for them. 

I don't remember much about summers when I was a kid. We didn't take big vacations very often, and the ones we did take were to visit family. My parents worked opposite shifts and my older brother is nine years older, so I imagine that summer was a laid back, hang around the house thing for us. 

Once I was in high school and college, I had summer jobs. There was time for relaxation, but mostly I worked to save up money for the future. I enjoyed my summer jobs babysitting and working at KMart. They kept me busy and gave me the funds to buy new books, put gas in the car, etc. 

1/3 of the Brainard grandkids

My favorite summer memory as an adult was back in 2013. We had a family reunion for my dad's side of the family. My aunts, uncles, and cousins got together to spend some time together and catch up. My dad has three siblings, two brothers and a sister. Together they had nine kids. Those nine kids have 9 kids (with one more on the way, I hear!) 

My cousins and I have about a 15 year age difference from oldest to youngest. It seemed like a lot as kids, but now it doesn't seem like much at all. I love getting together with my cousins, but even better is getting my kids together with their kids. Their age range is only about nine years, and they get along really well when they see each other.

If you are a genealogist, please skip this part, but we got tired of trying to figure out who was a second cousin and who was removed from whom, so my kids call my cousins Aunt and Uncle and they call their kids cousins. 

The reunion of 2013 was in my parents' town. We had a picnic and went hiking at the park and then spent some time at Claytor Lake State Park. There were plenty of adults and we naturally fell into a zone defense: watch the kids near you and don't worry about the rest! I love being able to completely rely on the village method of child supervision. I knew I could get after my cousins' kids if I needed to (and they would listen to me) and I knew that my kids would listen to someone else. 

My cousins brought some recording equipment and we sat around asking my dad and his siblings questions about family history. It was so fascinating to hear stories about my dad as a kid. I especially loved familiar stories from a different perspective! We certainly don't get together as often as I'd like (there's another reunion in the early planning stages right now), but when we do I thoroughly enjoy it.

He's probably telling a story about his favorite daughter!

Welcome to the Secret Subject Swap. This week 16 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. 

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

Baking In A Tornado

The Bergham’s Life Chronicles

Spatulas on Parade

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

The Momisodes

Stacy Sews and Schools

Sparkly Poetic Weirdo

The Lieber Family 

Battered Hope

Southern Belle Charm

Someone Else’s Genius

Silence of the Mom

Confessions of a part-time working mom

Small Talk Mama Searching for Sanity Climaxed

My subject is "What is your best summer vacation memory?"  It was submitted by Sparkly Poetic Weirdo

I'm also linking up with Ginny Marie's Spin Cycle.
 

Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday. I love the sentiment, the food, and the time off from work. Typically, though, it's been a stressful time for me. We spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws, and while I enjoy spending time with them, I miss my own family and the traditions I remember from childhood. It's also hard because my father-in-law lives alone in a quiet house. The abrupt onslaught of three, noisy, wild kids (and their cousin) is hard on him. I get that. I don't know what it's like to be used to a quiet house, but I can understand that it's somewhat jarring to be invaded all of a sudden!

This year, however, Thanksgiving was amazing! Everyone got along (the adults, I mean...the kids fought as much as they normally do!). The food was delicious (if I do say so myself!) and the time spent together was enriching.

We packed rather quickly on Tuesday night and I was glad to have our Dot & Dot Travel bags because they kids were able to get all their stuff together on their own.  We headed out the night before we had originally planned to leave because of winter storm Cato (why do we name winter storms, now?!) We got there safely, on Tuesday night just in time to say hi and go to bed. Thankfully, we travel in our pajamas! It rained all night, but quickly turned over to thick snow on Wednesday morning, so I am glad we traveled early.

The snow on Wednesday morning

My brother-in-law and his family didn't arrive until Wednesday evening, so my kids had the house to themselves for most of that first day. They did pretty well with getting into everything and fighting just often enough to remind me they were there.

He was hungry and throwing a fit because he didn't want any of the choices I offered (Pretty sure this was more about tired than hunger)

He was much happier later when he got a chance to wear the John Deere gear!

I spent most of Thursday in prep, cook and eat mode. For our Thanksgiving meal we had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing with sausage, gravy (that I'm getting better at every year), green bean casserole, orange-cranberry sauce, crescent rolls, and Ken's dad's oyster casserole. It was all delicious. I'll take the men's word on the oyster casserole!!

And doughnut snowmen for breakfast!

Friday and Saturday were pretty typical day-after-feast days. We didn't do much except play, read, and watch TV. Oh, and eat leftovers. On Saturday my sister-in-law went through a bunch of stuff in the basement. We had a full truck load of stuff that went to Goodwill and another load that went to the dump. It was a lot of work, but it felt good to get it all cleaned out. I only wish I had worn my pedometer!

We left late Saturday evening and again got home in time to go to bed. The kids were exhausted from the trip and it was good to be home. This year will go down in the memory books as a great Thanksgiving!

Ken made it through the snow to celebrate with us, even though he had to work the day before and after.

Cousins...mostly still

X Marks the Spot: Geocaching!

I mentioned yesterday that we had gone geocaching, so today I thought I would share a little bit more about that with you. 

What is Geocaching?

Geocaching is like a big international treasure hunt that anyone can participate in! There are geocaches hidden in various places all over the world. Some of them can be as small as a film canister or as large as a large bucket or shoebox. Inside each cache you will typically find a log book where previous locators have signed in to indicate that they found the cache. Depending on the size you might also find small trinkets that can be traded out for another small trinket that you've brought with you.

How do you go Geocaching?

All you need is a GPS device and a set of coordinates to look for. Go online to the Geocaching website and input the area where you would like to search for a cache. You will find a list of locations as well as a difficulty rating, clues, and any other useful information you might need. If you are really adventurous, you can go Geocaching with a map and a compass, but I have a horrible sense of direction and three kids to bring along, so we use an app. You can download the app for iPhones, androids, or Windows phones. It is a free app, but there are upgrades you can pay for if you decide you want more options.

Finding a Cache

When you open the Geocaching app you will see a map of your current location.  You are indicated by a blue, pulsing dot. If there are caches nearby, they will be indicated with a green dot. You can pinch in or out to adjust how much you see on your screen, but the free version of the app will only show things within a small radius. (Grey dots indicate caches that you are too far away from to get information on.)

Choose a cache that you would like to find and tap it. It will bring up more info about the cache and tell how how close you are as well as what direction to head in.  Turn your phone until the orange line at the bottom on the compass is in the middle and start walking. When you get close, your phone will alert you, and also warn you of the limitations of GPS capabilities.

Once you have gotten close enough, it's time to start searching. Re-reading the clues and hints to figure out what you are looking for. Take note of the size, so you know how obvious it might be. Caches are hidden in order not to be found by non-cachers, so sometimes you might have to poke around to find it.

This cache box was hidden in a hollowed-out piece of landscaping timber. It took a while to find!

When you find the cache, celebrate! Open it up and see what's inside. You will likely find a log book to sign, but you might also find a collection of trinkets inside. When you go geocaching, it's a good idea to bring a set of trinkets with you so that you can trade out for something from your cache. We have a jar of small fast food type toys that the kids are willing to trade that we keep in our van.

We traded for the green-tinted sunglasses as a cache last weekend!

Some caches have a theme. There is one near our local SPCA that has an animal theme. Many of the items in the cache box were animal related, such as a tennis ball, a dog leash or a paw print eraser. If there is a theme, try to stick with it so you don't disappoint the next group that comes along.

When you are done

After you have located the cache, signed the log, and swapped a trinket; you can log your find on the app. This tells other people that the cache is still there and in good condition. If you find one that is not in good condition (wet, moldy, broken) you can also log this information to give other people, and especially the cache owner, a head's up. 

Searching for our first cache...that we never found. :(

If you have looked for a reasonable amount of time and you can't find anything, it's important to log this too. The first cache that we looked for was one we didn't find. In checking the activity log, we could see that others had not located it either. If you are deciding on a cache to hunt, it's a good idea to check the activity log to see when it was last found. Since Geocaching happens on public property, there's always a chance that someone else has stumbled across it and moved it, thrown it out, or outright stolen it. 

Make sure to hide the cache back the way you found it so that the next group that comes along will have the same fun adventure that you did!

This one had a log book and an extra creative way to get to it!

Things to keep in mind

Geocaching should always be done on public property, or private property that the owners have given permission for. When you go to look for a cache, it is important to be stealthy. You should not be seen when you are hunting, lest someone else come along and steal or disturb the cache. People who do not know about Geocaching are called "Muggles." Many caches have a note inside describing the basics of Geocaching, so if someone stumbles across one, they might be converted to the fun. On the other hand, they might find a box of toys and decide to just take it. That obviously ruins the fun for others, so try not to be followed while you're on the search.

So Geocaches are harder to find than others. You should check the difficulty rating to see if there is extensive hiking or other treacherous terrain involved. Also check the activity log to see if other people have left clues as to where a cache is. Be careful though, because some people don't understand subtlety and might state outright where the cache is hidden. That might take some of the fun out of it for you.

Geocaches are hidden outdoors and ideally, should be waterproof. We have found, however, that many are not. We have had a few disappointments when we've found a water-logged book or moldy trinkets. If this is the case with something you find, please make a note of it so the owner can came fix things. 

Geocachers use some specific jargon that may be confusing at first. There is a nice glossary of terms that you can check to define words and acronyms that might have you stumped.

Geocaching is a great way to get outdoors on your own or with your family. It's fun and exciting and something almost everyone can participate it. You should definitely give it a try!

#TuesdayTen: 10 Things that Happen on a Perfect Day

This Tuesday, we are venturing into fantasy land and pondering what would happen on a perfect day. It's fun to think about even if there is no such thing as a perfect day. Or perhaps I have a rich, well-connected admirer out there who has been waiting to make my {perfect} day and just needs a blueprint. In that case, here it is!!

1. To start my perfect day everyone in my house would wake up fully rested. That means no alarms clocks, no requests for TV or breakfast, no full bladders making me get out of bed before my body is completely done sleeping.
2. In addition to being fully rested, we are not going to have a lot of required plans today, so it's going to be a Saturday that Ken doesn't work.
3. After we wake up (fully rested) and get dressed, we'll have a nice breakfast. I actually like cooking, so I don't mind making breakfast, just as long as the "perfect day" scenario is in place and my kitchen is 50% bigger and 100% cleaner than normal.
4. After all of my children have eaten their fill, we are going to go out for a hike, because of course, it's a sunny, warm day.
5. We will get to the hike location and everyone will don their backpack for the hike. Of course, being a perfect hike we will see the most amazing wildlife and greenery. Each animal that we will see will turn to us in that classic "looking over the shoulder" pose that photographers love and I will capture each of them perfectly with my nice camera (that I actually know how to use).
6. Midway through our hike, as we are starting to get a little tired and hungry (since everyone is walking and no one is demanding to be carried or whining about being thirsty) we will reach the top of the mountain. After we look out over the majestic views and bask in the splendor of God's creation, we will unpack the nicely prepared picnic lunch that we bought with us.
7. We will leisurely eat our lunch while spread out on our picnic blanket. After lunch everyone will take a brief nap in the sunshine (which will, of course, not burn anyone's skin while they are sleeping). If anyone is not in the mood for a nap after all the wonderful sleep they got last night, they are welcome to read a book.
8. When everyone is rejuvenated from their break, we will start the hike back down the mountain. We will take a sightly different route, which will bing us to a beautiful mountain lake. This lake is fed by clear hot springs from somewhere deep in the mountain, and since I thought ahead to pack our swim suits, we'll all take a dip in the wonderful 100º water.
9. After our refreshing swim, we'll finish our hike down the mountain and head home. We will arrive home to the smells of a wonderful dinner I prepared for the crockpot before we left. While we are waiting for dinner to finish cooking, we'll play a few board games as a family. Everyone will get a turn to win and we'll each congratulate the winner without whining or complaining about cheating or changing the rules.
10. After dinner the kids will wash up and get ready for bed. They'll kiss us good night and get into bed for story time. After such a vigorous day, they'll each fall asleep on the last line of the chapter I am reading and be breathing softly as I leave the room to go watch a movie on the couch with Ken. Since this is my perfect day, we'll munch on popcorn together and both stay awake throughout the entire movie.

So there you go, oh rich and well-connected benefactor. I truly don't ask for much on my perfect day. And here's the blueprint you've been waiting for. You have some time to get everything set up, since it looks like this imaginary day takes place sometime in June. Thanks in advance! Can't wait for the day!!

How about you? Do you have a prefect day scenario? Link up yours and/or leave a comment about it below. And now back to reality...

An InLinkz Link-up

Your Tuesday Ten hostesses are:

We hope you have enjoyed our Tuesday Ten Lists!  If so, please link up one of your own and share using #TuesdayTen!

Rules:

1) Link up a post, old or new, pertaining to the Tuesday Ten topic for this week and add our Tuesday Ten button to the post or to your sidebar.

2) Please do not link up contests, product reviews, or sponsored posts.

3) Visit your hostesses and follow them on social media.

4) Visit as many other linked posts as you can and show those bloggers some love by commenting and/or sharing!

Come link up again next Tuesday, March 4th when the topic will be "Your Favorite Recipes" in honor of National Nutrition Month & Mardi Gras!
 Get your pinnable content ready to go!

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Silly Family Traditions

Christmas is known to be a great time for families. Everyone is feeling full of love and the wonder of the season.  Gifts are exchanged and lots of food gets eaten.  Christmas is also a time for Traditions.  There are certain things our family does the same way every year.  Frances is the keeper of Traditions in our house.  She is always blurting out, "Hey Mommy, are we going to _________ like we did last year?? That was so fun!"  Or telling Henry, "Mommy and Daddy always do _________ after Christmas. It's a Tradition."  Sometimes she remembers things that I didn't put much stock in.  Like this year when I {thankfully} overheard her reminding Henry that "Santa always puts coal gum in our stockings!"  Guess who had forgotten the coal gum?!?!  I found some coal chocolate at CVS on Christmas Eve, and apparently that was good enough.

All these Traditions with a capital T got me to thinking about all the little-t traditions in our house.  The funny, little things that we do in our house that other people probably don't understand.  I wrote about one last March, when I told the story of the "I Love You" sign that the kids and I use.  It still happens on a daily basis. Benjamin has gotten much better at putting up the correct fingers, and he's also taken the lead from his brother to turn his hand over afterwards and shoot webs at me "like Spiderman."

I Love You

Friday night pizza and a movie night is another tradition in our home.  I'm not sure exactly how we came to have pizza every Friday night, but it's a night when Ken is typically not home, so I can get away with a more kid-centered meal.  We've had candy cane or Christmas Tree shaped pizzas, personal pizzas on nights we are ahead of schedule and all in a good mood, a few store bought or delivered pizzas, and even a few guests for Friday night pizza night.

Christmas Tree pizza

Another kitchen tradition that always makes me laugh is this one: I'm sure many moms are used to cooking with little ones underfoot or in and out with questions and requests.  One things that always keeps them in the kitchen is opening a new jar of olives, a jar of pickles, or a bag of pepperonis.  Inevitably, when I open one of those things, one of the kids will ask, "Mommy? Are those fresh?" with a devious little twinkle in their eye.  The question itself typically brings siblings to the kitchen who now all want to know: "Is it fresh?"  What they are really asking for is a taste.  We have to taste the olives to make sure they are fresh.  Sometimes we have to each taste a few!  Kids who come in the kitchen asking for "a taste" of something are rarely rewarded, but add a mischievous twinkle in the eyes and change the question to "Is it fresh?" and they will almost always get what they want: a bite of food, a hug and a smile.

Somehow, my kids also got hooked on stealing cars.  Not for real!!  I don't honestly remember, but I think it's safe to bet that this one started with a sarcastic remark from me.  Something along the lines of one of the kids asking where our van was and me replying that I had no idea, "but this one looks good, so let's take it instead!"  For some reason now, the quickest and most efficient way to get the kids into the van is to tell them it's not our van.  "Quick kids we have to hurry before the owners come out and see us stealing their van!!"  They scramble to get inside and giggle while they are buckling.  Then I have to peek out the back window carefully to make sure we aren't being followed and take off (not really, I promise) out of the parking lot.  They love "stealing" cars!!  It was even more fun after we got our new van.  My mother and I have the exact same van, so for a while it really did feel like we were stealing someone else's car.  Until we personalized it of course.  And by that, I mean we made our own mess inside the van so that no one would ever mistake it for Grandma's!

This one is ours.  At least I'm pretty sure it is. I have no idea why I took this picture!!

The last one I'm including is also something I've mentioned before, but I think it really fits in on this list. Sundays after church are my typical grocery-shopping time.  Especially this year because Frances and Henry are at Sunday school and I've just got Ben with me.  It's almost enjoyable to shop with just one kid!!  After going through the produce section, we head over to the deli.  For a while, I was trying to select a variety of meats and cheese for our weekly sandwiches, but somehow they all got stuck on Colby-Jack cheese.  Or as Ben calls it "Bowby Jack."  Now every Sunday we have to go to the deli counter and order a pound of Colby-Jack.  Did you know that a lot of grocery delis give out cookies to kids?  Mine don't know, because they only ever ask for cheese! After the deli workers have measured out our cheese, they slice out one more slice for each kid with me and hand them over.  We don't even ask any more because all three of the main deli workers in our grocery store know what to do!  And this past Sunday I didn't even have to order the cheese, because Benjamin walked right up to the deli counter and yelled, "A pound of bowby jack, pwease!"

These aren't typically the things I would think of when someone asks me about our family traditions, but they are certainly part of our family and I will miss them when the kids stop signing "I love you" or checking the freshness of our olives, or stealing vans (please don't let them ever start actually stealing vans!), or eating Bowby Jack cheese at the Food Lion deli.

Does your family have any silly family traditions?

Under the Black Light

Last weekend a miracle occurred!  Ken had the weekend off!  That's a rare occasion for us.  We had no big plans, so we mostly relaxed and spent some time together.  Time got away from us a bit on Saturday and by the time we realized we had been laying around the house all day it was dinner time!  I suggested we eat a quick dinner and then go play mini golf down the street.  Frances got all excited because she wanted to know if they would be doing the blacklight.  I let the kids change into clothing with more white than they had been wearing and after dinner we headed out.

I couldn't take very good pictures because I figured the flash would ruin them. You can still see that we had a good time glowing in the dark and playing golf.

I also learned some interesting things while I was there:

• Powdered laundry detergent fluoresces under a black light. I learned this because apparently my clothes aren't getting rinsed as well as they should and my shirt had speckles all over it.  Maybe I should stop shoving so many clothes in the washer!
•  My kids can't count.  None of them.  Ken and I laughed each time they would play through: putt, putt, putt, putt, putt, putt, putt and then announce, "I got a four!!" I honestly don't think they were trying to be deceitful, they just had a hard time counting while concentrating on their plays.
• It is a good thing we have played this course in the day light.  There are some parts of it that don't show up at all in the black light.
• Family time is fun!  I wish we could do things like this more often.  I guess we'll just have to take advantage of it whenever we can!

A-Hiking We Will Go!

Our brief venture up into the mountains of West Virginia on Saturday got me in the mood for a hike, so when I found out that Ken was off on Monday for Labor Day, we decided to make a family day of it.  We considered a couple of different locations, but since I didn't feel like making concrete plans and Ken hadn't been about to scout anything out recently, we decided to go up to the Shenandoah National Park.

As is usually the case, we got started a bit later than we wanted.  In the van on the way there we talked about the rules of hiking ("Take only pictures; leave only footprints.") and discussed the things we might see.  Frances' immediate answer was "SCAT!"  but I will take responsibility for her obsession.  She also wanted to see deer. Henry wanted to see a fox and a bear, and Benjamin guessed that we might see a squirrel and a lemur.

It was a beautiful drive up the mountain and we arrived around 11.  We had bathroom breaks and checked out the visitor's center and map.  Then I gave the kids a quick snack and we set out on the "Story of the Forest" nature trail.

 We saw a deer less than 50 steps into the forest!  Of course, Ken was the first to see it, but since these deer are used to people, we didn't startle it and we got to watch it eat and walk around for a little bit.  Can you see it in this picture?  Yeah, neither can I! But it's there!

 We kept walking and got the chance to cross a couple of dry creek beds and bridges.  The kids were fascinated with all the different things they could see.  They weren't very quiet, so I am actually surprised that we saw two or three more deer while we were out.

 We also saw this huge snail crawling up the side of a rock!

 And Henry found a four-leaf clover!

 I wore the kids' water bottles on a strap around my neck, so this is my view of the watering station. 

 Henry saw this tree and insisted that I take a picture of it. He says it looks like an elephant!

 I wore the kid-backpack for this hike, but amazingly managed to keep the boys out of it for most of the hike.  It wasn't until Benjamin fell and scraped his knees that he wanted to be carried.  And of course if Ben gets to be carried, Henry has to be as well. 

The kids started whining about 5 minutes from the end of the trail, so I'll call that good timing.  We decided to go back on the sidewalk instead of through the woods because of that.  We got back to the van close to 12:30 and had lunch at some of the picnic tables set out.

Ultimately, we saw squirrels, deer and scat, but no bear, foxes or lemurs (shocking, I know!). We all had a great time and were pretty worn out, although I think I was the only one to nap on the drive home.  We ended the day with Ken's BBQ chicken on the grill and my potato salad. 

It's a rare occurrence for us to all have a day together as a family, so I am very pleased with how this one turned out.  And since we bought a yearly pass to the Park, we are hoping to go back again and again as the seasons change!