Hiking with Kids at Powder Valley

Last Saturday we had a couple hours to kill in the morning so we packed up the kids and headed over to a local conservation area for a hike. Powder Valley Conservation Area and Nature Center has quickly become a favorite spot of ours. We only checked this place out a few weeks ago and couldn't get over how cool the nature center was for kids, how pretty the trails were and how close to our house this place is (we've since been back four times). The kids love climbing on the big toad up front, followed by checking out the snapping turtles, club house, fish and play areas inside. Once we've made our rounds through the nature center, we head outside and hit one of the trails. There are three separate trail loops through the park, all of which are different distances and paved, making it easy for little unsteady feet. The trails are really pretty and wind through the woods, up and down hills and have lots of wooden bridges that cross over creeks.

Mac always picks up a map (and multiple pencils) in the nature center and a walking stick along the trail and he leads the way, full-speed ahead. He's not the best navigator and he's pretty dangerous with the giant stick, so it's a constant balance between running to stay close to him and keeping far enough away not to get whacked. Mim does pretty well about walking next to us for a while, but then she usually insists on being held the rest of the time on Ryan's shoulders. She'll eventually just get to a point where she sits down on the trail and huffs and puffs until we pick her up. She's even been known to lay down and pretend to go to sleep. The differences in their little personalities become so evident while we're out hiking - Mac doesn't stop moving, must be in the lead, has to have his hands into and on everything, while Mim takes her sweet time, meanders around and has to practically be dragged down the trail to get her moving. They are so different and so funny.

Powder Valley is a great place to hike with little kids. As I mentioned, the trails are all paved, there are numerous benches along the way where you can stop and take a water/snack break. None of the loops are very long, so depending on how the kids handle the first one, we can then decide if we want to attempt another. And the hikes are really pretty this time of year and very active (although not crowded). The kids love looking out for birds, mushrooms, lizards, frogs, turtles and bugs. They also love stopping at the creek and throwing rocks and looking for minnows and tadpoles. Ryan and I have so much fun watching them explore, ask questions and discover new things. Adventuring with kids is a blast. 

Anyone else love to hike with their kids? 

Baby Mim - 21 Months

Dear Mim,

Where do I even begin with trying to put down into words just how amazing you are. Just when I think you are at the absolute perfect age, things just keep getting better and better. The last couple months have brought you a newfound independence and a determined attitude - that easy-going baby is slowly being replaced by a funny, sweet and autonomous little lady. You're assertive and feisty when you need to be, but snuggly and loving as can be, which I think is the best of both worlds. I'm still not sure how we ever got so lucky with you, but we couldn't love you any more.

I can't believe how well you can communicate with us and how much you're saying. You know every animal and animal noise. You are working on your colors (you love blue) and facial expression recognition. You can legit count to 14, which blows my mind! My mouth literally fell open in complete shock the first time I heard you do that - I was expecting maybe 1, 2, 3...but you just kept going! I guess all that hide and seek with Mac paid off. You love to sing Happy Birthday and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. You still jam out to Taylor Swift's Shake It Off daily. You always always say thank you when I give you something or help you out and sometimes you even remind me to say thank you when you do something for me! Your manners are impeccable! You love giving hugs and have to hug every dog you see, every kid you know and any stone garden animals. You give the best hugs ever.

Physically, you seem to have grown up nearly overnight. Now that you're running and climbing and chasing Mac around the neighborhood, you've lost a lot of that baby chunk and have shot up tall. You're incredibly strong (you can certainly give your brother a run for his money) and it's nearly impossible to take something away from you once it's in the clutches of your little hands. You also shriek like a banshee and thrash around...so, you win, child. Your coordination is getting much better and (knock on wood) you haven't had a serious forehead bruise in nearly three weeks! You rarely walk anywhere these days - you're always full speed ahead and running to get wherever you want to go. Your hair is finally filling in and it's getting really blonde and curly after our recent vacation. 

Speaking of vacation, you are a beach baby if I've ever seen one. You took to the beach like you were born to be there, absolutely fearless and completely in love with all aspects of it. You splashed in the waves, you chased the birds, played in the sand, dug for crabs, caught fish with dad and enjoyed a nice cold beverage (lemonade) while lounging in your beach chair with the rest of us. I was shocked by how much you immediately loved the beach and didn't want to leave. The only things that would convince you to leave were swimming in the pool or a golf cart ride to get ice cream. Pool time was also a big hit and we can tell that swimming lessons have been paying off. You refuse to wear a Puddle Jumper because it doesn't allow you to go underwater, which you love doing. You're a total fish! 

You're also a pretty good little gymnast these days. You've been going to gymnastics class for months now, but all of a sudden it seems to have clicked and you get it! You love the tumbling (my favorite) and can do a somersault all by yourself. You now wait in line for your turn on the equipment instead of just running around like a wild woman. You love the jumping on the trampoline and hanging from the bars. And after everything, you raise your hands and say "ta da," which totally kills me. I couldn't love it more. 

You are getting so independent these days and I can already tell that the "terrible twos" are coming soon. While I don't think you'll be anywhere close to as "terrible" as your brother was, I do think you're going to be getting more and more assertive, demanding and opinionated. You insist on picking out your own clothes and you must have things the very second you want them. Anytime I try to help you do something (like put on your shoes or brush your teeth or open chapstick) I'm met with "I DO IT!! MIMMY DO IT!!" I love this age so much, but it certainly comes with a price (which is my sanity). 

Now that you're a bit more independent and vocal, you and Mac have actually been getting along a lot better. So long as you're not taking his things or monopolizing daddy, he likes having you around and wants to play with you. Sometimes you're interested and sometimes you're not. You have no problem playing by yourself and you've realized that playing with him sometimes means that you get pushed around and things taken away from you, so you don't even bother despite his pleas. You are a total little copycat and parrot, so anything he does or says gets repeated, much to my displeasure sometimes. 

You're still a great eater and we're constantly impressed by the amount of food you'll eat and the things you'll try. You love any food you can dip and you've recently discovered honey mustard, so you insist on having that on everything. Anytime I ask you what you want to eat you exclaim, "CHICKEN!" Followed by, "SAUSAGE! EGGS!" Vegan you are not. You would eat all day long, if we'd let you and ask for snacks no less than 75 times a day. You love sweets and can put away ice cream faster than anyone in the family. You insist on having cereal multiple times and day, but only eat the marshmallows. You can use utensils, but choose to eat yogurt by the handful. After every drink you take, you slam your cup down, smack your lips and say, "Ahhh!" 

Oh Mimmy, I just love you so very much. Thank you for being you. Thank you for being mine.

Love, 

Your mama

Sayings:

- Oh duh (all done)

- Poppy (pacifier)

- Buddy (all guinea pigs)

- Sagey NO!! 

- Wub Ew (love you)

- Agos! (adios amigos)

- Wedy! (ready...every time you pick up a baseball bat)
- I do it!!
- More too! Done too! Mimmy too! Go too! (anytime you want to do what Mac's doing)

Favorites:

Book: Little Blue Truck

Food: chicken with honey mustard

Color: blue

Number: two

Show: Daniel Tiger (Ti Ti) and Curious George

Movie: Wreck It Ralph, Frozen, Minions, Little Mermaid

Animal: owl, dogs, cats, bunnies

Activities: swimming, slides, playing ball

Treat: anything

Toy: baby doll

Fruit: blueberries

Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (and Shake it Off by Taylor Swift)

Mother's Day Exchange

One of my favorite things about blogging is the connections you make with other moms, bloggers and readers. There's something so amazingly fulfilling about bonding with another person over similar experiences, passions and challenges. I'm blessed to say that I have an amazingly encouraging and caring mommy blogging tribe, some of whom I text with daily (or 100 times a day) and feel so honored to be a part of a bigger circle of incredible women. So, when Elizabeth and Courtney announced they were again hosting their Mother's Day gift exchange where we would get the chance to spoil another mom, I was so excited! I got matched with mommy-extraordinaire Tara from A Tale of Two Maples. I'd been reading Tara's blog for years until she took an unexpected break from blogging upon getting diagnosed with thyroid cancer this past August. She has the most positive and determined attitude and is an incredible mom to two adorable little boys. She's back blogging about her journey and family, so please head over to her blog and read along. Plus, check out what I sent her! I hope she likes it as much as I did! 

My other match was the absolutely adorable and incredibly sweet friend Amy of Keepin' Up With The Smiths. I've also been following Amy for a long time (since before we were both pregnant with our first) and I adore this girl and love reading about her and her adventures with her two gorgeous boys. Amy is so thoughtful and crafty and fun - she sent me the most amazing spa box, filled so all kinds of incredible items so I could create my own at home spa, including facial masks, a loofah, pomegranate bath bomb, candle, mani/pedi nail kit, nail polish, lip balm and (my very favorite item) salted caramel chocolates! Talk about being spoiled! 

HELLO LOVE.

Amy, you hit it out of the park! Thank you so much! I know what I'm going to be doing Sunday night! And special thanks to Liz and Courtney for organizing. 

Happy early Mother's Days to all the mommies out there!

What are your Mother's Day plans?

Le Tote - March & April

A few months have passed since my last (and first) Le Tote review post and a lot of you (ok, maybe two of you) told me you'd like to keep seeing what I get in my Le Tote boxes, so I'm here to update you on my last two boxes. As I explained before, Le Tote is a personal styling service that sends you 5 item that you keep and wear as many times as you want, then ship back for a new box of 5 items. The cost is $59/month, shipping is free both ways and there's no limit on how many boxes you get in a month. As opposed to Stitch Fix (where they choose all 5 items for you), Le Tote lets you pick your items from a virtual closet and swap out items before they ship, giving you more control over what you receive. Each box contains 3 clothing items and 2 accessory items. If you love anything, you can keep/purchase it for a discount.

March Box

My March Le Tote box contained 1 sweater, 2 jackets, a scarf and a necklace. Two of these items were in my Le Tote "closet" and selected based on my picks and 3 of them were chosen for me, although I ended up swapping out a dress they chose for an additional jacket and replaced a bracelet with a necklace. One of the things I like about this service is that you have 48 hours to swap out other items for the pieces they send you and can make your choices based on what events and occasions you have coming up. I realized from my past boxes that I got a lot of use out of the jackets and sweaters and less use out of the jewelry and handbag accessories, so I chose those items. Plus, it was still pretty cool here in March, so I liked being able to choose warmer items.

Kensie Raccoon Contrast Top - I liked this sweater and thought it was cute. Not something I think I'd get a ton of use out of, but it was comfortable, casual and I loved the red. The mixed materials were a bit strange with the buttons in the front on the bottom half, but I thought it was cute and got a lot of compliments on it when I wore it out. 

Octavia Textured Woven Jacket - This jacket was great for work, but was just a tad bit off on sizing. The sleeves were a bit long and the jacket was really tight through the shoulders and bust. Plus, it was very short. I wore it a couple times, but not something I wanted to keep.

Tart Vegan Leather Bomber Jacket - I had high hopes for this jacket, but in reality I didn't love it as much as I hoped. It was really comfortable and soft, but looking at the photos, I think it looked a bit cheap. I also didn't love the gathered waist and felt like it was a bit too 80's for my taste.

Camilla Watercolor Scarf - This was such a pretty scarf and I actually got a ton of use out of it. The colors were bright and pretty, without being overpowering. It went with everything (black, brown, blue, pink, yellow, white, navy) and was really soft. Loved it.

Camilla Owl Pendant - I only wore this once, but it was a cute little owl necklace that Mim loved! I chose this because my grandmother loved owls and it reminded me of her, but I didn't get much use out of it.  

Overall, the March box was ok. Not my favorite, but a couple good pieces.

April Box

My April Le Tote box was much more colorful and spring-appropriate. In this box I received one peplum top, one sweater, one dress and two scarves. Three of the items were from my "closet" and two were chosen for me. Again, I switched out a couple items that were chosen for me with a few items I wanted based on what I had going on in April. 

French Connection Woven Peplum - Although a bit wrinkled in the photo (my fault), I really liked this peplum top. It's v-neck (which I love) and definitely did a good job hiding my mom-belly. I'm not a big fan of anything without sleeves, but this was perfect for layering under a cardigan or jacket. 

French Connection Crewneck Pullover - While not super flattering or anything special, I really liked this pink sweater. I don't have many pink clothing items in my closet at home (I'm a neutrals kind of girl), so this was a nice pop of cotton candy color. It was also really really soft and amazingly comfortable. I could live in this sweater.

Camilla Orange Graffiti Scarf - This little orange scarf was so pretty, but it was a total mess of static cling, even after spraying profusely with Static Guard and rubbing down with a dryer sheet.  It stuck so badly to itself that I could barely style it for a photo. I wore it once for just a few hours and couldn't stand it sticking to me and itself, so this was a fail. 

Ava Citron Stripe Scarf - By contrast, this scarf was so pretty and really soft, although I'm not sure it photographs as well. I love the neutral colors and it went with practically everything I owned. 

Ava Camilla Jersey Shift Dress - I immediately discarded this dress when I pulled it out of the box and it took me forever to even try it on, but I'm glad I did because it looked so much cuter on than it did on the hanger. Bright, colorful, fun and flattering. Plus, super light and comfortable. This would be a great piece for summer in the office...I might ask for it again. 

Overall, I was really happy with my April box. I ended up keeping it weeks longer than I expected to because I just wasn't ready to send the pieces back. But now I'm getting excited to see what's going to be in my next tote!

And if you want to try Le Tote, I'm giving away a free month of the styling service! Just use the Rafflecopter below to enter! Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Has anyone else tried Le Tote?
Which item above was your favorite?