Handmade in the Wild: Hiking, Hiking, Hiking

We hope to instill a love of the outdoors with the kids, and we look forward to lots of outdoor adventures as a family!

Enjoying the trails around the local lake... this was probably after Dan took them both out on the kayak first. Don't ask me why he's not wearing pants because I can't remember!

My parents have a small trail that winds through their shelter belt. We love hiking it during the spring, summer and fall! I'm thankful that my dad has taken so much time to create this trail!

Ev is growing up! She insisted on pulling her brother in the wagon while we were on just a short walk around the neighborhood. Little brother always appreciates the attention :)

Skirt: Blog Post

Grey Floral Pants: Made for Mermaids Bonny Leggings made from clearance leggings from Walmart

Sweatshirt: Hatteras Hoodie pattern from Hey June Handmade using a upcyled flannel pillowcase and oatmeal french terry from Raspberry Creek Fabrics.

Next Up ~ Mt. Rushmore and Horse Thief {May Family Vacation}

After getting to our hotel, we organized our room and headed to Mt. Rushmore. 

Last winter, I won a Instagram give-away from the SD Department of Tourism, which included a Mt. Rushmore parking pass, a state park sticker and several South Dakota-Made goodies like truffles and coffee. This giveaway was a major motivation to get out to the Hills this summer - more like a good excuse to see how well the kids would do in the car (we had a 10 hour car trip planned for July... posts about that one eventually!).

Dan hadn't been to Mt. Rushmore since they improved the trails and the visitor center, and Ev was excited to see Mt. Rushmore - we have one book that has it and there is a big painting of it at Wall Drug. James, on the other hand was pretty tired and pretty cranky. Neither child has ever slept super well in the car, so he had only one short nap before our stop at Wall Drug. But, we got through it and enjoyed the hike.

Instead of heading back to the hotel right away, we decided to head to nearby Horse Thief Lake for another short hike. Ev and Dan had some fun exploring again, while James was in the carrier on my back... still not sleeping - crazy one-year-old!

Here, we let James out a bit... he loves exploring just as much as Ev does, but his footing isn't quite as sure ;)

After this hike, we headed back to Rapid. Both kids were asleep within 3 minutes in the car! We picked up some pizza and then enjoyed the water park at the hotel. Day 1 was a full, fun and exhausting day!

A Fall Walk (Lots of Pictures!)

Union Grove State Park

We decided to go to Union Grove State Park after church on Sunday to enjoy a fall hike. The fall colors are still appearing, and so of course, I had fun with my camera!

 This was Evelyn's first time facing outward in our Baby Bjorn carrier... I know what some say (Don't face them outward! Don't use Baby Bjorn! Blah, blah, blah), but we don't use it that often, and it E likes it!

 Hiking, hiking, hiking... it was a short trail, but enjoyable :) We already have plans of bring our cross country skis and snowshoes there during the winter! There were still a few campers around, enjoying the last of the fall weather.

 All smiles with Daddy.

 Thanks for smiling for me, too, Evelyn!

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 I told you I was having fun with the camera...

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 After our hike, we laid out a blanket and let Evelyn enjoy the outdoors even more before the rain came the next day.

 Yup, we let her gum a stick, but not for too long! We were happy that she didn't like the taste that much...

She thinks she needs to taste each individual leaf on the ground. Yuck.

 Happy girl. Happy day.