Leila's First Hike

 We realized when we went sledding way back in January that if we bought a pass for Mt. Rainier park it would save us money as it is valid for 13 months. So we made a point to put a hike on the calendar for the summer. In early August, we finally made that come to fruition. Leila has been to the mountain several times in the winter so it was quite the change to see it without all the snow on the roads and sledders. We headed up to Paradise and picked our hike when we got there. We chose a short hike since it was Leila's first ever. We hiked the Skyline Trail, had lunch and then came back down. Leila LOVED it! She was so nervous in the car going up. We kept telling her that there was nothing to be nervous about, but well, she is my child. On our way home we were already planning our next hike! 

Myrtle Falls

Leila's excitement tripled when she realized there was snow to play with! 

"Um, really Dad?!?!" 

On our way down we ran into the Simon girls and some of their friends. The funny thing was that Sarah invited us to join her the night before without knowing that we had already made plans to hike. 

We looked around the inn when we finished hiking. One of Chris's former students works there so we stopped to say hello. While we were resting in the lobby we noticed that a few kids around us were completing Junior Ranger booklets. We asked Leila if she wanted to also and we helped her with her activities. 

Taking her first Junior Ranger oath.