Starting off 2016 with some exercise

We woke up New Years Day and decided to go for a stroll through the desert at Saguaro National Park.

I love this photo of Drewbie (sporting his neon green shirt from Gram) pretending to be a saguaro. I made the mistake at the time of the photo being captured of asking him if he was the live saguaro or the dead skeleton. He has since been talking a lot about life vs death.

I don't doubt there are some advantages to moving on to another realm, but we don't want Drew to get there before we are there to welcome him, you know?

Even Mac was a good sport with the hiking venture, provided he was facing outward in the Baby Bjorn.

If he is facing inward (toward mama), he feels like I'm trying to get him to fall asleep and then he gets rather...irritated. Actually, pissed off is a better description.

And let me tell you: one disgruntled little babe can sure mess with the peace and quiet of the wild outdoors!

It wasn't too warm temperature-wise, but there was no wind on New Year's Day, so we all got rather toasty & were shedding layers like crazy.

Can you see the little urine streams in this photo?

I have to say, I feel distinctly disadvantaged in the woods with my tribe. They drop drawer and pee all over the desert and meanwhile I am afraid to hydrate, lest I be required to squat. TMI, I know....

The boys LOVE their camelpaks and I think it is safe to say they all are guilty of overhydrating, just by way of trying to outdo one another in the "watering of thirsty desert foliage".  HA!

I think I will refrain on commenting on who can "shoot" the farthest and who can make the most consecutive stops & still have fire power. Only a boy mom would understand....

This morning, January 2, we also hiked, though a different trail (Douglas Spring) and it had more elevation changes. It was gorgeous! It was the same temperature as yesterday, but it was quite windy & it therefore felt a lot more chilly. I'd let the boys wear shorts if they wanted (as I wore shorts, too), but we sort of regretted it. We're going to hit this trail again.

Do you see me hefting a little black cooler full of breast milk?

Well, suffice it to say that I do not think I needed to bother with my ice pack for today. But for sure that is not usually the case in the hot AZ sun!

We had neglected to pack a hat for Mac on New Years Day, and I was worried about him getting too much sun.

Today, I was just happy he had a hat to try and keep his ears from getting cold. He did have a jacket with a hood, but it was nice to have a hat to tack the hood close over his ears.

Now, for the record, the fact that it was chilly did NOT inhibit anyone from drinking ample amounts from their Camelpaks. I'll let you speculate as to why hydration is so key with these three....

I'm sorry Drew & T are in the shadows in this shot. Oh well--lots of room for improvement in the photodocumentation department.

But until Mac gets mobile, I'm NOT lugging our Canon up these hills!