We took the Kids :)

 Last weekend, our whole family enjoyed a 3-day, 2-night backpacking trip!  Just before we left, I stopped at REI to pick up a few last-minute things and the look I got from the cashier was priceless when I told him what we were going to do:

   "You going somewhere this weekend?"
   "Yeah.  Our whole family is going to hike into Point Reyes," I said.
   "Sounds like fun. How old are your kids?"
    "Six, four, and two."
    (Stunned silence) "Ok... well.... have fun... and good luck..."

As it turns out, we DID have a lot of fun!  Our kids were amazing!  They each carried their own backpacks; Larry and Dawna carried their own sleeping bag, clothes, flashlight, water, and snacks.  (Xochitl carried her clothes and water, I carried her sleeping bag)

(Nana let Xochitl borrow this mini Jansport backpack!  It was TOO CUTE to watch her sport it the whole weekend!)

 We left Thursday after work and we started hiking around 7:30 pm.  The hike was about 2 miles, and we made it in about 2 hours.  Honestly though, I thought that was a great pace for the kids. Nobody was carried; everybody walked every step of the way!  And it made the kids really excited to get in the tent and go to sleep! Here's our awesome setup, designed and implemented by Jon.  The kids slept in the backpacking tent and Jon and I slept under the tarp.  It was quite misty and foggy the whole time, so while it is fun to sleep out under the stars, we were glad to have the shelter to stay dry.

 The campsite was fabulous!  Bathrooms, drinkable water, food lockers, and picnic tables! That made packing very relaxing... no bear canisters, no water purifier... ahhh... The campsitewas surrounded by tall grasses woven through with little footpaths, and filled with ladybugs!  We spent a lot of time just playing around the site!

 But eventually we ventured off and found this amazing eucalyptus tree, complete with huge roots and a rope for swinging! My crazy girls were all over that.  Larry wouldn't touch it.

(My little squirrels!)

 And then we finally made it down to the beach!  It was WAY too cold to get into the water, but the sand was nice and warm... here we see Dawna and Xochitl using it as a blanket :) Xochitl needed help getting out... I guess all I need is a giant sand pit to bury her in when I need to contain her, since nothing else can... monkey...

 Jon took Dawna on a longer hike down the beach while I stayed with the littler ones to throw rocks into a little stream.  Here's the Daddy-Daughter footprints:

 They found some fun sea life in the tide pools and Dawna had a lot of fun standing out on the rocks... Daddy carried her there...

 

The hike out was longer... 3 miles... so we had a few stops for snacks and pottys.  So it goes... still, we made it! And everybody walked and carried all their own stuff!  Even me :) I tried to get Jon to carry me out... no such luck... 

The trail out was a fire road, wide and not very steep. Perfect for our hikers!

 The bugs, however, were HORRENDOUS! These little gnat things kept flying in our eyes, mouths, and noses... yuck... Jon fashioned this for Dawna out of his Motley tube (it's a very useful contraption... I'm wearing mine as a headband in previous pictures)

 And in other news, Xochitl left her flashlight on all night and wore the batteries out.  She was sad, but then decided to pretend to take pictures with it... This is Jon and Xochitl taking pictures of each other... 

 And THAT, my friends, is a fine family vacation.  We took the kids. Five miles. Backpacking. We did.

We rock.