Mint Springs

MARCH 12, 2012

We are so lucky to live close to the best park ever. Nestled against the Shenandoah National Park, Mint Springs Park not only has a lake (with swimming in the summer) but also a fun playground, volleyball, and - best of all - hiking.

In this super busy spring season, when we have kids in piano, dance, dance, soccer, soccer, karate, scouts, and scouts our one free evening is on Monday nights. I feel so blessed that we have Mondays free so we can spend time as a family. We've decided that every Monday we should go hiking as a family, so we do. We spend the time talking about life, school, work and the gospel. You can't get a better family night than ours!

 

 Look! It's a picture of me (a rare thing for me to post, but here you go).

 Ellie is pointing out the cool beaver sticks. There is a beaver that lives in the lake, and he is chewing down sticks and logs and piling them along the trail. I can't tell you how many beaver sticks we have taken home (not that we have a lack of sticks by any means in our stick-filled backyard). But these sticks have beaver bite marks and make them extra cool.

 

My super handsome skinny husband. Ken is SO strong. He often runs the 3 miles up-hill to Mint Springs, and the runs the trails. This 6-8 mile run is his SHORT run. Catch him running on a Monday morning and he's going 13+ miles. Ken's a machine, and I am so proud of him.

 Otho and Abe way ahead of us on the trail. Spring is coming, and in a few months this trail will be plush and green, but I LOVE the dead leaves and bare trees. In the winter, the woods are stunning as they show off their architecture and shape.

Not to bore anyone with our hundreds of bird pictures (I kid you not), but I love this picture of a blue robin. The birds are back, and their colors are vibrant against the brown wood.