Trip Report: Mount Willard, October 26

Mount Willard is one of the best "bang for the buck" mountains in New Hampshire—pretty easy hike, big view from the top—so it's been on our list to do with Brynna for awhile. In fact, we tried to do it with her in the backpack when she was about six months old (revisit the adorable pictures here) but stopped partway because she got too chilly.

We were in North Conway for a half marathon a couple of weeks ago but went up early so we could spend Saturday hiking. After a fortifying breakfast at the Nereledge Inn (our favorite B&B), we hopped into the car and headed for the AMC Highland Center in Crawford Notch. As we wound our way there, it started to snow and Brynna started to get skeptical. At the trailhead, we talked up the delight of walking in the snow and convinced B to give it a try. Then we bundled up and headed out. 

Here's B with my dad at the trailhead:

A stop at Centennial Pool on the way up. Dad tried to convince B to take a dip, but she wasn't having any of it.

This is B showing Alex her "secret snow land," a little trail offshoot looking into the snow-dusted woods. She was very excited about this and told everyone we encountered on the trail how to find it.

Heading up and up with Dada:

Running with M toward the summit:

Checking out the (mostly cloud-obscured) view from the ledges, while M makes sure she doesn't fall off:

Re-bundled at the summit. This hike was a great opportunity to discuss layering!

We have a picture of Dad and me on Mount Willard from 1999. Here's the cloudier 2013 version:

I think we should have a caption contest for this one:

Primal scream at the summit!

And a regular smile:

One of the problems with big bulky mittens is that you can't pick up trail mix with them on. Good thing Alex is willing to feed her like a little bird.

Once we returned to the Highland Center, we showed B where we'd been.

And then she got to check out the awesome new playground at the Highland Center, complete with swing bridge:

So, another successful experience in the mountains for B. It's so exciting to watch a little hiker emerge!

Trip Report: Mount Major, September 1st

Yes, we've been to Mount Major before, too. Just like when B was very little, we're still trying to pick fairly short hikes with big payoffs, and we prefer not to drive too far, so we're returning to some of the hikes that we've carried her up in the past! Here's the old trip report and the obligatory flash-back photo:

We had a much warmer go of it this time—late summer weather instead of midwinter! The trail starts off as a long, rocky path. Yup, definitely in New England.

Giant rocks make very handy rest stops. Alex's super-gorp is delicious!

Jasper waits patiently while we snack.

Eventually, the ledges start—B's favorite part!

Then the views open up.

Quite early on, we had the luck of running into another family hiking with young kids—one slightly older and one a bit younger than B. It made the climbing much more fun for everyone! Here's B playing with her new friends at the summit.

And monkeying around in a tree on the way down:

B decided that ice cream could take the place of our regular post-hike treat of peach Snapple and potato chips, so we stopped in Alton Bay for what turned out to be giant cones!

The ice cream place even had doggie ice cream, so we got Jasper a frozen goody as well. He and B applied themselves with equal vigor to the task:

This hike was well within B's capability, but having our impromptu hiking companions (we came all the way down with them as well) certainly made the whole experience much more fun for her, and therefore for us as well. I hope we'll be able to hike again with them in the future!

Trip Report: Belknap Mountain Hike, September 29

Today, a crew of four—B, my dad, Jasper, and I—set off to climb Belknap Mountain. This same quartet climbed Belknap just about exactly four years ago, and that trip report (showing a much tinier B!) can be found here. Today, of course, she did it under her own power—just under 2 miles roundtrip.

Four years ago:

And near the start of our hike today:

I need to get better at these hold-the-camera-out-and-point-it-back-at-myself shots. Alex usually is in charge of those (he was stuck at home replacing our fence).

B is fascinated by cairns.

So she built this little one on a rest break!

Jasper always likes to be right in the middle...even if that puts him right in the way. We went up the Green Trail today. There's no map at the trailhead, and no reason to choose Green vs Blue vs Red vs White, but we always pick Dartmouth when we can.

Here's B atop the fire tower, with Lake Winnepesaukee in the background. Great views out across New Hampshire and into Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont! I brought my Scudder's White Mountain Guide and got a good sense of what was what.

We came back down the Red Trail. In fact, B virtually flew down—Dad and I were rushing to keep up with her and Jasper was getting quite a bit of exercise going back and forth between all of us! She even passed some much bigger kids. Right toward the end, she found this big stump (lightning strike, maybe?) to climb on.

Then she ran on ahead again, and by the time Dad and I came down the hill into the parking lot, she was leaning casually up against the car, looking like she'd been waiting for hours.

We had a lovely walk on a beautiful fall day. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have Alex with us!

A Library Card for Brynna!

I haven't posted the pictures from B's first day of school yet...but something even more important has happened. (I'm only sort of kidding.)

Brynna has her own library card now!

She wrote her name on the application:

Received her card from the librarian, along with a little bag that the library is giving to all kindergarteners, with a book to read and a coloring book and a welcome to the library letter:

And checking out using her own card for the first time:

Hurray!

B's Fifth Birthday

Brynna had a birthday a few weeks ago, and we had a lovely set of celebrations.

The actual event was mid-week, but we bookended things with a pair of parties.

Kicking off the festivities, we hosted a lovely family get-together (sorry, no photos, too busy laughing!) and then the weekend after had a little gathering in the park with a few friends. B requested a teddy bear party, and Deen obliged with a lovely cake. It turns out that when you go to the party goods store, you can buy all sorts of character-driven plates, cups, tablecloths, etc. but if you are not having a Dora party or a Star Wars party or a Disney Princess Party you are pretty much out of luck. No generic teddy bears (CareBears, yes) or horses (My Little Pony, yes). We did track down some teddy bear plates in the baby shower aisle and ended up using those.

Here's B eating with her friend C:

The cake:

Blowing out the candles:

Very pleased with her new baby doll:

Jakey helps her get it ready to go:

 And they're off (yes, comes with a little backpack/baby carrier)!

 Checking out the cards:

Horse figurines:

A wonderful time was had by all. Amazing that we have a five year old in our house now!