Cheyenne Mountain State Park

This weekend was incredibly nice here in our part of Colorado.
After a very busy Saturday with a birthday party at a trampoline park, we decided some R & R was in order and began researching new hiking trails to explore.
We decided on Cheyenne Mountain State Park's Coyote Run Trail. We had never been to this area to hike before, so it was a great day of adventure for all of us.
I brought my tripod to capture a few family photos I hope to include in our family yearbook.
David wore Henry, I wore Hollin {who nursed only once during the hike}  and Harbor was fearlessly independent and enjoyed climbing rocks and carrying walking sticks.
With temps in the low 70s and a cool breeze blowing off Pikes Peak, it was glorious!
Small scatterings of Scrub Oaks and towering Ponderosa Pines offered little shade, but the mountain to our west gave us an easy landmark as we navigated the trail.

David and his two boys

We stopped at the crest of a bluff where a quaint little bench offered an overlook.

The kids are all accustomed to the tripod and are becoming pros at looking and smiling.

Even little Hollin opened her little peepers!

Love this family of five!

David hiked ahead and led the crew.

I love that depending on where we choose to hike, 

we can encounter lush vegetation, thick Aspen groves, and running water- 

or desert like conditions complete with cacti and warbler birds, like Cheyenne Mountain State Park.

David and Harbor put their Cub Scout skills to good use with several map reading lessons.

I'm thankful David enjoys photography.

He  offered many times to man the camera,

and I'm grateful to make an appearance in several photos.

I want the kids to see that I was there with them someday.

: )  

A funny from this hike that I want to remember:

Harbor wears velcro type shoes to school everyday,

 but they bit the dust the day before at the birthday party and

 he had no choice but to don his lace up shoes.

It was a big deal.

Harbor doesn't quite have the hang of tying them down and 

he was pretty anxious about having to hike in them.

What if they come undone? What if he can't figure them out?

They stayed on the entire hike and I think he forgot he was wearing them after a time.

He likes to be proficient at everything he does and for whatever reason, the shoe tying is a huge source of stress for him.

This picture of him, so big, drinking from his Camelbak, with his lace up shoes, makes me smile.

Every milestone means so much to me.

: )

I love this picture of my mountain man.

There is nothing more attractive than a loving father and husband

baby wearing a giant two year old shadowed by the Rockies.

Heaven!

Or should I say, "Mountain Men?"

: )

Me with my babies

Harbor {6 yrs.}, Henry {2 yrs.} and Hollin {6 mos.}

These brothers held hands and hiked together the entire last stretch of the way.

David's back was ready for a rest and Henry's feet were ready to run!

Henry made a big deal of climbing over the smallest of rocks.

He would grunt and exclaim and hop and climb over rocks no bigger than my purse.

We got a great laugh at his expense.

Kids in nature is the best!

David had the camera and captured this moment in time of me and Hollin.

It is hard to see, but she is fussing and sucking on my fingers, quite ready to be nursed.

I looked up at David and smiled anyway, despite her unhappiness.

Years from now, I want to remember this moment.

The brittle, dry grass poking into my leggings,

 the sounds of small warblers, singing off key to one another,

 and the feel of Hollin's gummy little mouth gnawing my knuckles,

feeling so far from home under the shadow of the mountain in the late afternoon sun,

but yet knowing that my family is just there, around the bend, toddling the dirt path ahead of me.

I love her so, my littlest of littles, my papoose of a baby.

Hiking with my family is my sweet spot. I hope we hit at least ten more new hiking trails this Spring!