Hiking with the kids

One of the things I am thankful for with being in a PhD program is I can largely dictate how I spend my time. This means I can spend lots of time with sweet kiddos during the day...and stay up late working on my dissertation. =) But it's all worth it. One early morning, we packed a lunch and went hiking on the Eno River. Or I should really say Bella ran the ENTIRE hike while JT tried really close behind...but his momma was holding onto him with a death grip. Y'all, there were lots of roots and I just knew he was going to trip and go into the river. ha! Then there's my 6 year old fearless gal bouncing like Tigger through them all. She's a little athlete! We had to walk down some stairs before getting to the rocks in the river. She ran down the whole thing, jumped from the third step, and kept running on the trail. Uhm, yes, I was worried! She's so agile! And we all ended up taking off our shoes and getting in the river for a little muddy swim. After a great picnic lunch and more nature walking, we headed home for a long nap!

"Mommy, this is where Pooh puts his honey!"

They were making a home for a worm!