Get your walking shoes

Thanks to a friend of mine we've started going on a weekly hike with some fellow mamas and babes. Some are still wee ones in slings, but most are walkers. We alternate paths and there are different people on each trip, so it's always a different experience. On the first hike, Thomas was the poky one in the back. He just quietly looked at all the sights and stooped to check out hidden treasures. I just walked on ahead of him and looked back every few seconds to see him swinging his arms with a smile on his face. The second one he was still in the back, but by the third, he had discovered the joy of "finding" the path. "Thomas FOUND it!!" He now forges ahead, oblivious to the fact that everyone has stopped to check out a little "lake". We cross creeks, climb stone steps, explore caves, splash in shallow water and see all kinds of animals. He always has a blast. This last trip we saw peacocks and he talked about it for days - "see eecocks yeserday hike"