Father's Day Hike (Bald Pate Mountain)

Link, age 6 months, wearing the socks I finished knitting for him that morning

Yesterday was Father's Day. We started the day off by letting Daddy sleep in while I got the boys ready, fed the cats, and made us all breakfast. Daddy was VERY happy to sleep in, as this is something he never is able to do. Then we headed off for a hike up Bald Pate Mountain.

Bald Pate Mountain is only a half hour from our house, and it is a light and enjoyable hike. We had only done it once before and that was in the winter (http://ouvrezvosyeuxjdr.blogspot.com/2013/02/presidents-day-hike.html), so it was nice to see the trail full of green leaves and flowers.

We pretty much held the boys in every combination during this hike. Sometimes I wore Meo, sometimes I work Link, sometimes Robbie wore Meo, sometimes Robbie wore Link, sometimes I carried Link on my hip (most of the way up the mountain), and most of the time Meo just walked. The great part about this hike, besides it being a gorgeous day and perfect hiking weather is that the trail is easy enough that Meo could hike the whole thing. I held him at the beginning because he just woke up from a nap and needed some adjusting time, and Robbie held him when we went on a side quest at the end.

We took our time on the summit; had snacks, enjoyed the view, and explored nature. Meo was very proud he made it to the top and was excited for some more hiking!

on the summit

We found some lovely lady slippers on the top and it was fun to show them to the boys.

Meo also correctly identified wha there was so many holes on this tree. Can you?

Here are some highlights from our hike:

•  When Meo said "Daddy, you are the stinky cheese!!" Robbie responded, "Oh?" To which Meo said "You stand alone!" (for those of you in the dark...the cheese stands alone, the cheese stands alone, high ho the dairy-o, the cheese stands alone).
• When I was changing Link's diaper on the summit, a chickadee perched inches from my face to chirp and check us out. 
• When Robbie squealed because a dragon fly landed on him and surprised him.
• Seeing all three of my boys so happy and excited, exploring nature and exercising.

Link took a nap on the way back.

Another highlight was how differently Meo and Daddy reacted to me showing them some moose poop.

We took a side quest on the way back to check out the Foster Pond lookout. It was a pretty lookout indeed.

Link didn't get to check out the view though, he was too busy sleeping and being adorable.

After our hike, we had to go out and eat pizza, as is our tradition post hike meal. Link slept through this too.

But Robbie had a lot of fun playing video games with Meo. They played Pac Man and the original Donkey Kong.

And the pizza and cheese fries were delicious!

Robbie said that he had the perfect father's day. I'm glad, because he is the most wonderful dad and he deserves unending perfect days.

Our Father's Day photo shoot for Dad's desk at work