Bricks on Their Heads

Joel and I often tease the kids by telling them we are going to strap bricks to the tops of their heads to keep them from growing too fast. They are both just getting so big! We've spent a lot of time with different friends lately that have younger babies, and seeing their little ones makes me realize just how grown-up our kids are getting. 

But even though I'll always cherish wonderful memories of their baby and toddler years, in many ways I'm actually so glad to be beyond that phase and enjoying this new chapter in our lives: The Big Kid Years. As the kids have gotten older, bigger, and more capable, we're able to enjoy so many more activities as a family. Elliot and Ethan are learning to like the same activities that Joel and I like to do. So many things that we've talked about doing as a family 'someday' when the kids get older are now easily within their capabilities. They have both developed so much physical strength, perseverance, endurance, confidence, and maturity. They are truly ready to conquer the world by our sides, one adventure at a time! (Well, we'll start with the smaller adventures first ;)

A few weeks ago we took a spontaneous drive down to Tucson to go for a hike. We ended up at Sabino Canyon on the trail to Seven Falls. 

The trail is a little over 8 miles round trip. Unfortunately, we only made it about 7 miles. It was getting very warm and we were running low on water. Joel and I decided it just wasn't very safe to keep going. We didn't want to risk the kiddos getting heat exhaustion.

Elliot and Ethan were awesome little troopers and kept up with us for more than 4 miles. We helped them out a bit over the last 3 miles with some piggy back rides, but they really did awesome. (And Joel and I got a great extra workout hauling kids at the end of the hike!)

The scenery in Sabino Canyon is amazing. I used to enjoy hiking there during my good ol' days at UofA, and I was glad to show off my old hiking spot to Joel and the kids. Please also note the exquisite scenery that is my collection of chins. I have not yet completed my catalogue of the various chin specimens in this picture, but for now I am noting them as Chin Proper, Supplemental Chin A, and Supplemental Chin B.

I guess we'll go ahead and skip the bricks on their heads. These kids just get more and more fun as the days go by. I can't wait to see the adventures we'll share with them.