Fifth Birthday Hike

Our family tradition is to hike together each year on Elizabeth's birthday. This year we hit the Mississippi River Valley along the north bank of the river and west of 35E, and we all agreed that we'll definitely return to the same spot again. It was a great mix of beach exploration and forest hiking.

Amelie rode in her fancy-schmancy backpack with a canopy that kept her nice and shaded. Let me just state for the record that Isaac is very tough and strong, because he hauled her around for the almost four hours we were trekking!

Please note in the picture below that Elizabeth and I are twins in our green cargo pants and hot pink shirts. This was very important to her!

We found a full-size teepee made out of logs and enjoyed pretending to cook over the open fire.

Mostly, though, the hike was all about climbing. Elizabeth found endless fallen trees to use as balance beams.

She described herself as a "monkey-bear."

The biggest thrill was "sand slides." The bluff was only 6-10 feet above the riverbank in most places, and it was usually covered in soft sand. Elizabeth learned to scramble up on all fours and slide back down the steep parts. We were really proud of her bravery.

A VanLoon hiking excursion is simply not complete without climbing trees. Because Isaac wore the backpack the whole time, he was severely restricted in this area (for the first time since I've known him!) and I had to fill in for him!

Even Amelie joined in and crawled around on the downed trunks.

After about two hours of hiking, climbing, and sliding, we found a sandy beach area and spent an hour playing and relaxing there. Elizabeth and I waded. We all filled the Mississippi with skipping stones (okay, not quite). Amelie tried to eat sand.

After we forbade any more sand-eating, Amelie conked out and took a well-deserved nap. Oh, the pleasures of a baby asleep on my chest! I was so happy!

The big log was a fun idea but not too comfortable, so I had to switch to the sand for the rest of the nap.

While Amelie slept and I gloried in her warm, relaxed body draped over me, Isaac and Elizabeth busied themselves building a sand castle and crushing shells into a fine, silvery powder to decorate it.

Once Amelie woke up, she decided she was done with hiking, and we quickly made our way back to the car. I ended up carrying her for the last 5 or 10 minutes. We took out the camera to document her tired, teary red eyes, but she turned into a ham instead.

We made it through the whole excursion with no injuries - until we arrived at home and walked up our own front steps. Elizabeth took a hard fall and scraped her knuckles raw and banged her shin enough to swell it up immediately (it's been a really rough week for her!).

After Neosporin and Band-Aids, she cuddled Isaac on the couch with an icepack strapped to her shin and an American Girl book while I got dinner ready.

All in all, it was a glorious hike and a fantastic family day. What a way to celebrate five great years!

And let me tell you, after dinner and some quick baths, those girls fell asleep faster than you could whisper "Happy birthday!"