New Years Eve Hike

We started a tradition a couple years ago of going hiking (mountain climbing) on NYE morning so the kids would be tired enough to take a nap and then ready to stay up really late. We didn't have a handy mountain this year (there are some nearby, but not quite close enough for our purposes), so we found a pretty hike through a little creek at a preserve, and called it good. there are actually a lot of fun, pretty, little hikes around here, we've done a couple more since :).

unfortunately for our tradition, paul worked the first part of the day, so our hike was a late afternoon hike instead.

this bridge was a huge hit!

the ground was rather soggy/swampy, but it didn't slow us down at all.

considering the time of year, there was a decent variety of wildlife (geese and deer) and plant-life (lichen, moss, algae... lots of cool trees and stumps)

as we were getting ready to leave, there was a flock of geese that circled above us 4-5 times honking to each other. the kids loved it! they finally settled down in the pond not too far from where were walking. it was a good sign to head back home for the evening.

I'm sure we did something fun that night, but I don't really remember exactly what :(. I'm sure there were games involved, and lots of snacks... so far 2014 has been kind to us. happy new year!