Owyhee Hills

You know spring is on its way when the daffodils start blooming in our planter, the sun is shining more often, the wind starts to blow, soccer begins, and the car is pleasantly warm after sitting in the parking lot. Chadwick and I have a goal to do a family outing once per month, and in March we were able to sneak out to the Owyhee Canyonlands for an afternoon. The weather was perfect and the kids enjoyed the time wandering around the rocks and grass stubble that dots the area. Darwin and Chadwick ran 16 miles near the house that morning (he was training for a half marathon in Tennessee) and despite the exercise, Darwin was rearing to explore once turned loose from his crate in the car. He didn't move much when we got home that evening....

The girls really wanted to see a lizard and were disappointed to learn that it was still too cold for the lizards to be out en mass. We saw ants, flies, the occasional hawk, and one lone mountain biker. Morgan and Mallorie brought backpacks filled with supplies for an outing in nature - water bottle, notebook, pencils, and binoculars. They happily drew flowers and rocks while Spencer climbed on every high point his little legs could reach. He doesn't fit in the backpack as well any more but didn't seem to mind being carried for parts of the walk. (And yes, my husband packed him around. Apparently 16 miles of running wasn't enough to make him too tired.)

 

 

We made a loop up the hill, looked down on the car - which Spencer was thrilled to point out - and back down on the other side. Darwin was dragging by the time we got to the bottom of the hill. He dropped with a thud in the middle of the stream, gratefully lapping water and enjoying the cool down. Revived, he was up and running for the remainder of our outing.

 

Our little man is obsessed with rocks, sticks, and bugs and he spends lots of time bent over, examining the dirt/rocks/bugs or trying to cart them around. He also enjoys throwing things, which is no surprise, and had a blast chucking rocks in the stream while the girls and Chadwick rested.

 

I love these two men in my life!
 

I'm pretty sure everyone was asleep by the time we reached home....must have been a successful outing! I can't wait to get out there again as the weather continues to warm - both with the kids as well as Steve's horses.