First hike up the mountain

We spent the whole day at Grandma's today, just hanging out around the house. At some point during the afternoon, I was roused from my Sunday afternoon nap and told that we were going for a hike. So we loaded up into Grandma's Camry and drove over the the base on the little mountain behind her house.

I was amazed that Ella, Levi, and Noah all climbed to the top of the first hill under their own power. Levi and Noah not only didn't get out of breath... both of them talked non-stop the entire way up the hill. Obviously that trait does not come from their father...

Enjoying the view...


Looking to the north-east. Grandma's house is circled in red. When I was a kid, the area outlined in green was all a big desert lot. I think we spent virtually every spare moment we had out there, riding bikes, digging forts, shooting gophers with pellet guns. It makes me a little sad that my boys don't have a big empty lot at the end of our street where they can do the same things I did as a kid. Of course, wandering the neighborhood with pellet guns will probably get you arrested these days...


Now instead of a desert lot, people are building these absolutely ginormous houses right up at the border of the mountain preserve. It's a little sad, even for a total free market private property guy, to see his childhood playground become an expensive housing development.

Then we headed back down the hill...

I think the hike wore them out completely. Noah couldn't keep his eyes open by 7 PM. All three of them cashed out on the drive home, and were transferred to their beds without a peep. It was a good day...