A Hiking We Will Go

Before the foot of snow we've been blanketed with, my sister and I took our kids and niece hiking near a local water reservoir. It may be a new favorite location with easy to walk trails, beautiful scenery, and a beach perfect for skipping rocks.

Some say we look alike, but I just can't see the resemblance. ;)

The two littles would not keep their hands to themselves, as you can see. 

 "Ok. Stand on the log and when we count to three, jump off!"

 "1, 2"

 "3!"

 "Eh, close enough."

Wordless Wednesday - Fall's Beauty

With snow in the forecast tomorrow, let's have another look at what we'll be missing. This is the sight coming to my sister's house and her yard. Beautiful but gosh, that's a LOT of leaves to rake.

Fall is Here

Fall has officially arrived in NE Ohio. The leaves are turning bright oranges, yellows, and reds, the air is crisp, and everything is all about pumpkins. This isn't technically the kids' first Fall season, but it is their first "real" Fall since Arizona's Fall months consist of 80 degree temps and no changing or falling leaves.

My sister's house is in the woods so there is an abundance of leaves to rake and jump into. The kids are experiencing many 'firsts' this year. One of them is a leaf pile and Alena and Christian loved it! Noah, not so much. He did like kicking the pile but not actually sitting in it.

See Noah's face? Hah!

My sister not only lives in the woods, but on a quiet dirt road too. It's a great place to take pictures.

Found a perfect tiny leaf.

Is anyone else out there loving the beauty of Fall?

Nature at its Finest

We found some moths a while ago and assumed they were fighting and separated them. Well after watching them for some time, they found each other again and I figured out pretty quickly that they were not fighting. In fact, they were mating! The kids didn't understand what was going on. "Look. They're hugging!" Ahh, sweet innocence.

Leaving The Nest

The other day as I was preparing to take a shower, Alena came darting into the house carrying something in her hands and speaking with such excitement that I couldn't understand her. It wasn't until she got close enough that I could see what it was. She had a baby robin in her hands!

There is a nest near the house and every since these birds were in the eggs, the kids would check on them daily. It has been a great learning opportunity. This day, the birds were leaving the nest for the first time and learning to fly!

Originally we had thought the bird had fallen out of the tree so once the kids each had a turn holding it, we put it back into the nest. But it hopped out again! That was when I realized what was going on. I put off the shower and the kids and I watched the little birds gain the confidence to take the leap and leave the nest. This is most likely a once in a lifetime chance and I'm so glad we got to experience it.

Isn't nature amazing? Have you ever experienced something similar?