Hiking and Other Outdoor Fun

There isn't a whole lot going on in our household right now, but for the sake of posting some darling pictures of Bryant, I thought I better update our blog. We have had some absolutely beautiful weather in Central Oregon, especially these last few weeks and, knowing the cold snowy days of winter are likely just around the corner, we have been taking every opportunity to get out and enjoy the sunshine.
Jeremy has a big elk hunt this week, and in preparation for that hunt, the three of us went out on a hiking/scouting trip last Saturday. It was so warm and wonderful, it almost felt like early summer and Bryant did awesome in the backpack. We were probably out for about 3 hours and Jeremy and I split the time carrying Bryant on our backs. I have to say that there is a HUGE difference between early in the summer when I was trekking up Black Butte with Bryant on my back and this Fall. He is so heavy in that backpack, but it was way worth it to get us all outside and having fun together. The area we hiked in is the former site of the B&B fire, I think it was about 4 years ago, so there was a lot of soot and burned wood, we were all covered in it by the time the hike was over. When we got to a spot where we decided to head back, we took Bryant out to play around a little before the trek back to the car, he loved being free to roam around, but the unsteady ground of the great outdoors wreaked havoc with the unstable balance one year olds are prone to. He found lots of rocks and sticks and all in all it was a really fun afternoon.
This afternoon Bryant and I ventured out for a walk with our friends Angel, Madison and Zoey. At the end of the walk we played for a while at a new playground just down the street from our house. The playground is awesome for little tykes because it has two little, and I do mean little slides and the whole thing is surrounded by mounds of bark chips, perfect for little bodies constantly falling down. Bryant crawled up the stairs to the little slides, turned around, got on his tummy and backed his way down the slide, it was adorable and he was so proud of himself. He would only do it once of course before he was interested in other endeavors, so of course I wasn't able to take a picture or record it!

Well, I think that about catches you all up to speed. The weather is supposed to take a turn tomorrow, no snow, but the rain and wind will likely keep us home bound for a few days. Hope you are all enjoying lots of sunshine!!