Tracking Down Some Fun

Ahhh, I fell into a slump again and forgot about the blog.  Well, I didn't exactly forget about it, it was unfortunately put on the back burner of life while I was out traveling, playing, cooking, holidaying, and then enjoying some time with the kids.  And, yet again, I have had several equipment failures, misplaced wires, crashed laptop with lots of pictures on it, etc.  I was hoping to use all the time before my next teaching gig starts to prepare for class, especially in lieu of losing lots of lectures!  However, I have had no real schedule and one of the great joys of lazy days with no real schedule to follow is being able to take the kids out on adventures.  Winter does not slow us down one bit!  We have a fabulous selection of outdoor areas that are just as incredible during the winter as they are in the other seasons; if not more incredible during the winter due to the lack of mosquitos!  Last week, the two little ones and I headed to the arboreteum where we were able to borrow a birding backpack and hike through the woods.  It was great timing because there was a fresh layer of snow, which meants lot of animal tracks to follow and try to guess who made them, all while making our own:) 

Such a gorgeous great big place to explore.

Expert birder in training.

All kinds of animals tracking through here!!

"I bet the squirrels live in dhere mommy..."

"uummm....really, I think they live in nests Smoosh...."

Smooshie tracks.

We tried to find the turkeys, but their tracks were all we got to see of them.

Squeaks got to enjoy the view from the backpack.  She was very good at making us be quiet and listen for birds.  "Birrr....Birr...."  She is going to be another great little explorer one day!