Hiking!

We finally went on a hike again this morning!

Hiking has been one of our favorite things to do here in AZ, but until the past 6 months or so, we weren't going on any kind of regular basis. You know, a random day here, a random day there, but not every week. This fall/winter we resolved to go every weekend. In fact, we practically rang in the new year on a hike, as we hiked Squaw Peak (a BIG hike) on New Year's Eve. This new resolve has been great for us--and my waist! We love the time outdoors, Sadie loves it, and Andrew likes it so much that anytime we see a "deserty" mountain or hill he exclaims, "HIKING!!" He loves riding in the backpack on daddy and loves looking at the wildlife. "Ats" seem to be a particular favorite lately, as do "lidards". There were a lot of hummingbirds out this morning, which Andrew thought were quite neat!

But, the last 5 weeks or so have been difficult on our resolve--first there was the weekend of the flu, then an all to close for comfort run-in with a rattle "nake" left us a little weary (it happens this time of year as the temperatures warm up), then his busy birthday weekend, then Easter & sicknesses once again. So, finally today, we got back on the wagon and went. It was a gorgeous morning and Andrew was VERY excited getting ready, so much so that he even wore his hat the WHOLE time!

We hiked up the little mountain by our house, which we have done so many times before and took a new route back down. Andrew loved pointing out all the "big cacsus". Here's the view from the top:

We're hoping that we can get in a few more weekends in before the triple-digit heat is here and the hiking becomes more dangerous than enjoyable. In the meantime, here are some of our other favorite hiking pictures:

This was Andrew's first hike--at the same spot we went today. Just a little bit smaller then! ;)

Andrew's 1st birthday hike & still small enough for the Baby Bjorn!

Hiking in Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona. So gorgeous! This was also Andrew's first time in the hiking backpack. He loved it and still does!!

View from the top of Squaw Peak, 1.2 miles up! You can see the hike took so long that Andrew fell asleep on the way back down!

A few more random others...and from the last ones you can clearly see that yes, the desert can actually be green! The trail in the last picture is where we saw the snake, but unfortunately, I didn't have my camera that day!