Maxwell's Mountain

Everything's relative. A few weeks ago, we walked with Owen and the dog to a new-ish dog park (off leash area) near our house. It's a pretty large enclosure with gravel trails through the sagebrush and juniper trees. Owen loved hiking on the trails, especially climbing the "mountain" that's in the middle of the park. It's really a small rocky mound that gets you MAYBE 10 feet higher than the rest of the park, but as soon as we got to the top, he yelled, "Yeah Owen! Climb mountain!" It was also the first thing he had to tell Miss Holly about at school on Monday. I'd like to think this excitement comes from a pure love of the outdoors or from living in close proximity to amazing natural surroundings, but I'm pretty sure it's because we have a great book called, "Maxwell's Mountain" that tells the story of a boy named Maxwell who climbs a similar "mountain" in his neighborhood park. No matter.

When I told Owen we were taking Hudson back to the park today, he declared "need backpack" (just like Maxwell). We sparked lots of smiles walking around the park, Owen in sunglasses and a backpack, telling every stranger we passed that he was going to climb a mountain.


People keep asking me if we'll be getting a double stroller, but I just don't think we'll need it. I think Owen will be more than happy to concede the stroller to the baby, so he can walk on his own. On our Friday walks, I think us mom's are learning to talk loud enough to drown out the calls of "Want get out!" coming from all the joggers. =) Yesterday, the kids stayed in because we had the promise of going swimming at the end of our walk. Other weeks, we play "dodge the toddler" with our strollers because a few of the kids are almost always on foot. I'm continually amazed at the speed and stamina these 2-year olds already have.

At least we have some amazing scenery to see on those rare occasions when Owen will hang out in the backpack. Paulina Lake last month:


but ths is quickly becoming my most frequent view: