Yikes! Hikes!

Due to a very wet March, and (so far) pleasant April, our family hikes for March and April ended up being about a week and a half apart.

Our March hike took place quite spontaneously one night after dinner. We just went on a short trail (about 1/2 mile) that is in the hills near our house. That one went well for being late in the day after we'd all been at work and school. That is, until the little guy fell in a bit of mud and declared that he was done. After a bit of tough love from us, he was able to recover and we completed our hike without further incident. Didn't really get any pictures on that one, that's just how spontaneous it was!

Yesterday we took our April hike (although with the improving weather, I'm sure we'll be getting in more than one a month through the summer). With the threat of rain today, we ceased the opportunity of a dry, somewhat sunny, slightly warm day. Kai and I actually did this hike with a group of friends in January and we thought it was so fun we wanted to take Joe to see it. It was another shorty (about 1 mile), but it is all hill. The view from the top is amazing, as are all the views around here. We are so lucky to have such beauty around us! This one went very well. Kai did not even ask to be carried and he literally ran up the hill, or at least a good chunk of it. See:

The view from the summit. This was enough for me to get up there, although Kai was only concerned about the rice krispy treat that I had for him at the top.

Yellow flowers for Daddy. I have to say, I love the kind heart our little guy is developing. He is really learning to think of what other's might like, and always wants to be sure everyone has things equally (ie, I got some "yellow flowers", too!).

Busy, busy...

I've done it again, I've been a very bad blogger...

Life just seems so busy right now, and the days are passing more quickly than I can keep up with them! We haven't been busy with anything particular or "major", I just haven't gotten around to blogging! So, here's a little catch up.

First of all, I am loving age 4! We are seeing a level of independence, cooperation and understanding in our little guy that we've never seen before. Don't get me wrong, we still have our challenges, but overall, life with a 4 year old is grand! (Uh, oh... now I've done it...) Kai has never been one to play much with his toys, but he is finally starting to and we're actually seeing periods of independent play, something that was never before seen in our house! He's also been very cooperative in helping with chores around the house, and like his Daddy, is learning to take great joy in crossing things off the "to-do" list. Earlier this week, he "helped" me (ie, played while I did the work) rearrange the pantry section of our garage, then really helped me take a bunch of boxes to the recycling. I seem to be getting more done around the house, even though he is not napping at home anymore (or, rarely, I should say). The no nap situation has, of course, led to less Mommy computer time (hence the lack of blogging), which isn't entirely a bad thing!

A few weeks ago Joe and I escaped to the coast for a night while Kai stayed with my parents. Time with grandparents is a win-win-win situation. Everyone is happy! Grandma and Grandpa kept Kai very busy with super fun activities, while Mommy and Daddy did pretty much nothing, and enjoyed a stormy weekend at the coast. But, after a short time apart, we were all super happy to be reunited! It's amazing what a little down time will do for you!

Kai has been back in soccer for a couple months now and is doing so great. He is going move up two classes next session, where he will start learning more soccer skills and scrimmage! He is also expressing interest in trying baseball, and swimming this summer, so I think we'll stay pretty busy for a while. Oh, and he's already asking about the track meets like we did last year. He is really a natural athlete and I can't wait to see where this takes him (if anywhere...).

And I must brag about how he's doing a preschool... he is doing great!! He wrote his name for the first time around the first of the year, and he continues to practice and improve it. He is getting great pencil control and does really good at tracing and connect the dots. He's also been in speech therapy (they come to his preschool... how great is that??) since December, and we're starting to see lots of improvements there as well.

Alright, enough bragging... errr, I mean catch up. Here's a few recent pics!

A day to remember... the day he cleaned his room without being asked!

At the Monster Truck show last weekend... who do you think is more excited??