a hiatus in winter

We had a lovely hiatus in winter today with temps reaching upward to 60° under beautiful blue skies. We decided to take advantage of the warmth and head out to a local park with some out-of-town friends. We haven't seen them since their sweet new little one was born so it was a treat to meet beautiful Naia and see her family again.

Of course, the kids were immediately drawn to the ledge overhanging a huge gully running through the park.

They hung and slid their little bodies as far over the edge as they could without actually plunging down the hillside.

You can see the tree roots on which Paulie perched over a 20+ foot drop. They try to make my heart stop nearly every time we hike here!

Finn and Zach did find a little bit of tamer fun in a troll's cauldron.

Then, of course, the big kids found a slightly safer way to descend into the gully.

Never being one to shy from a challenge, Paulie decided to climb the most difficult route out of the ravine.

But he was quite thrilled with his victory when he reached the top.

Poor Finn, being too little to explore the ravine, grew tired of waiting and took a rest on a fallen log.

He was very patient. :)

The next challenge...a fallen log crossing a creek!

Too many kids going too many different directions!

After conquering the log, we headed out of the woods.

What a beautiful break in the chilly winter we've had. We certainly made the most of our warm day and enjoyed seeing friends too!