Mr. McGregor's Spring Farm Days

One of the best things about having a kid is that we get out of our comfort zone and try activities that we had never considered before.

This morning we got up and drove to Huntsville for Mr. McGregor's Spring Farm Days at Burritt on the Mountain in Huntsville. 

This was our first visit to this historic park, complete with restored historic 19th century houses, barnyard animals, numerous playgrounds for little people and an excellent view of the city of Huntsville and the mountains of North Alabama.

The park is set up so that you can walk through historic homes but also offers a twist of fun for children by incorporating games from favorite nursery rhymes in the form of the Whimsical Woods. 

Jack really enjoyed seeing all of the animals. I'm pretty sure his favorite thing was visiting the sheep. He has now added the sound "baa" to his repertoire of words/sounds. It is so sweet to hear him say this because he would whisper it to the sheep!

We saw ponies, a cow, pigs, goats, sheep and chickens.

We also watched a farmer shear a rather large sheep. It had quite a coat of wool to keep it warm this past winter!

Jack had fun playing on at least three different playgrounds throughout the park. 

I think his favorite playground activity was when Daniel helped him climb up a climbing wall.

And the slide is always a big hit!

Jack also seemed to enjoy the more educational parts. He was mesmerized by the fire in the blacksmith shop and appeared interested in the demonstration of how they cooked in the 19th century.

We all enjoyed our visit to Burritt on the Mountain – though we skipped out the touring the eclectic mansion. Perhaps we will see it on our next visit.

I don't know that our family would benefit from a yearly pass to the park, but we had a great time (and wore ourselves out) visiting on one of the special Mr. McGregor's Farm Days today!

Monte Sano, Part II

Back in April we tried our first day hike with Jack and it was a failure success, depending on how you looked at it. Today we went back to Monte Sano and had a much better experience.

First off we decided to skip out on taking Sophie. As much as we love our dog, she tends to add an extra layer of difficulty. Any day other than Sunday, we can take her with us, but our Sunday's are just not dog friendly.

Second, we tried to do a better job of adjusting our kid carrier in the parking lot. We also continued to adjust it on the trail since Jack seems to lean to the left. Unfortunately this gives me terrible sciatic nerve pain in my right hip. We will have to keep working on this. I think once he is bigger he will sit more naturally centered in the pack.

Third, we had no trouble finding our trailhead. We were just dummies in April. Bad moods made us stupid. The hike was lovely – all in the woods. Actually perfect for mountain biking {though we won't be doing that any time soon with an infant}. I love views, and since it is early summer, the views are minimal thanks to all of the full, green trees. I am sure the views are amazing in winter, but for now I will have to be content with a walk in the woods.

Fourth, Jack did pretty well. He got fussy about halfway into our 3-mile hike. Then he conked out and slept all of the way back to the car. My hip was hurting pretty badly towards the end of the hike {see above}. Also, I have come to the conclusion that after ten years I believe it is time to retire my beloved hiking boots and get a new pair. Those things have seen a lot of miles on many different trails in many states. I will be sad to say goodbye to them.

Finally, Daniel and I were in much better spirits on this hike. It was a bit warm, but the shade kept us cool. It is nice to be hiking again. Not sure how many hikes we can squeeze in before it is too hot for Jack. But today was nice.

Trail Stats:

Monte Sano State Park

Huntsville, Alabama

South Plateau Trail to Fire Tower Connector Trail

3 miles

Flat hiking, some rocks and roots. Well maintained trail. Nice and wide. Would be perfect for mountain biking with kids in the future. Views would be much better in the winter.

Our First Day Hike... post having a child

Daniel and I have been meaning to go on a day hike with Jack for some time now. However, life keeps getting in the way. We recently had a conversation where we came to the conclusion that since we became homeowners {Fall 2005} we have had little time to do the things we truly love.

When we were first married, we had all the time in the world, but little funds. Our mutual love of the outdoors and proximity to many hiking trails paved the way for many fun weekends hiking and sleeping under the stars.

Then we grew up a little. We bought our first home and spent five long years renovating it. In hindsight, it was a great experience, but we {temporarily} gave up many of our hobbies so that we could coax our little fixer upper into a home that we loved {which we then sold so we could move due to a lay off}. Now we have more funds, but seemingly less and less time to devote to our hobbies.

All of that to say: we have decided that we need to start being intentional about using our precious time to do the things we love. There will always be a new thing that needs to be done around the house. The lawn will always feel like it needs to be mowed. The dishes and laundry won't ever do themselves. But for now, we have agreed to make a concerted effort to do something fun together at least once a month. 

We want to enjoy our lives now. Not wait until we retire. Also we want to pass along our passion for the outdoors to our son. I guess it is fitting that we kicked off our "day of outdoor fun" on Earth Day...

Last night we checked the weather and decided Sunday would be perfect for a hike in Huntsville. This morning we packed all of our gear, our son and our dog into the Subaru. Somehow we made it out the door by 8:05am and to church by 9am. Thankfully it was cool enough to leave Sophie in the car during church.

After church, we made a pit stop at Five Guys to fuel up on burgers and fries – the perfect diet for hiking??? At least we didn't have to feel guilty eating it since we were going to be burning extra calories.

Once lunch was finished, we drove to Monte Sano for a little adventure. It was supposed to be fun. The weather was perfect. We had our favorite dog and our favorite little boy with us and we were going to do something we both loved.

Here's the reality: 

Sophie whined all day about being stuck in a car. 

Jack fussed once we got to the trailhead and needed to be fed and changed. 

Daniel and I both had to change clothes in the car. 

We couldn't find our trailhead.

Sophie continued to whine on the trail because we weren't going fast enough and we kept stopping to check the {unhelpful} map.

We couldn't seem to find the trail we wanted to be on. All of the connector trails we came across were on the "wrong side of the map." {We are actually very good at orienteering, but the map was so so and we were both growing impatient with Sophie which clouded our judgement}.

We never did get on the right trail. 

The wind picked up and Jack got cold and fussy...

I sang The Wheels on the Bus and Daniel threatened to not hike beside me.

So many things {seemingly} conspired against us that we found ourselves snapping at each other and at Sophie when we should have been exuberant to be out hiking.

Life is never going to be perfect. We did a 3-mile hike with our little one. It wasn't exactly what we hoped for and we spent part of the time being snippy. But the thing is, we got out and did something we both really love. Deep down anyways. I think we just need to keep doing it. Sophie is not always going to whine. We will have good days and bad. But we need to be out on the trails and breathing in the fresh air of God's creation. We plan to go back. 

Especially now that we know where the right trailhead is!

We also can't wait to bring our bikes here. The trails for biking will be so much fun – some are even kid {baby} friendly.

On a separate note, here is a quick overview of the Deuter Kid Comfort Carrier II:

We borrowed this from my sister who used it to take their 2-year-old to Ireland.

Overall I really liked it. The shoulder straps and hip belt are really cushy. Deuter does a good job in designing their packs so they don't rest right up against your back – great air flow, so you back isn't completely soaked in sweat.

There are a ton of pockets, which will be great for longer hikes {especially as Jack gets bigger and needs snacks and toys}.

It was a little big for Jack, but he rode in it comfortably. We really should have tested/adjusted the straps at home. Trying to fit it to Jack in the parking lot was a mistake on our end.

Jack fell asleep while we hiked and we never worried about him falling out or his head bobbing around.

The only negative is that when you adjust the torso to the longest setting, it was still too short for Daniel. That means I get the joy of carrying Jack. {This was actually not too bad of a deal for me since Daniel carried a Deuter day pack with our water and extras... it probably weighed at least as much as Jack}.