Sunday Evening Walks.

We have some great trails around the corner from our house. Some of it's paved, some of it's dirt, some are narrow trails through the woods, and some of it is boardwalk. A few months ago we were invited to dinner at a friend's house. After we ate as much as our stomachs would hold, we walked around their neighborhood. I got hooked. When our Sunday evenings aren't busy, I love to go for an evening walk with the girls. Sometimes we just walk through the neighborhoods, and sometimes we go on the trails.

The trails are  my favorite. Just a couple steps off the street and you feel like you're miles and miles away. It's dense and quiet, and reminds me of the Northwest, minus the doug firs. Last night the girls were restless, so I decided to take them out on a walk and give Ross some quiet time to do his food prep for the week. Each of the girls found a pine-cone which never left their hands for the rest of the walk. It's the simple joys, people. Then Claire started collecting yellow leaves. She'd squeal and laugh every time the wind blew and some leaves fell from the trees.

Not long after we started on the trail we saw 5 deer. A mama and her babies. They were just as curious as the girls were and bravely crept closer. Claire kept saying we had to be quiet so we wouldn't scare them while Aoife shrieked with delight and yelled "DOG!" (Lately, anything with four legs and a head is a dog.) We spent a while watching the deer. The girls thought they were pretty cool. The trails have deer signs, but I hadn't actually seen any before.

I have no idea where the trails actually go, we have yet to reach the end of them, but we explored further out this time, loading up the stroller with yellow leaves before deciding to head home. What was meant to be a quick walk turned out to be just under an hour. We had a blast. The girls wanted to show Ross their treasures, so I had him come down and meet us. When Claire saw him, she jumped out of the stroller and ran to him, screaming, "Hey cute guy! Whatcha doin out here?!"

I've never called Ross that. It was hysterical. We think she came up with it because sometimes I call her cute girl. Man she cracks me up. We topped off the night with some berries and yogurt. And it doesn't get much better than that.