This morning we had a hiking playdate with a new friend from church and her kids. We met at a local nature sanctuary to hike some of their trails. The kids and I had never been there before. After meeting up with our friends, we all walked down to a pond and then we followed a trail that took us through a beautiful forest. The recent rains had done a number on the trail, and there were times we had to carry a few of the kids through some very tall grass, but it was a lovely hike. As we were nearing the end, Baby E was straggling behind when I heard him announce loudly and with enthusiasm, “I smell beer!!” Awesome.

Yesterday on our walk near the shop we had come across a brewery. As we were walking, Baby E asked what that horrible smell was and I explained to him that that place was making beer that was what he was smelling. He curled up his nose and emphatically informed me that he did not like the smell of beer.

Since that walk, whenever he smells something he doesn’t like he says, “I smell beer,” which as you can imagine goes over great in public. Leave it to Baby E to make me sound like a raging alcoholic. And it’s just my luck that when Baby E discovers a phrase, he commits to it, so I can only imagine the sideways glances I’m going to be getting! Ha!

I was helping at the shop this afternoon and we had a little time to kill before heading there, so we drove around and explored the town. We found a few more small parks. We pulled up to one that did not look impressive at all, but I noticed there was a trail next to it, so I bribed (I mean convinced) the kids to walk the trail and we ended up at a small creek. It was shallow enough and clear enough that I let the kids take their shoes off and wade in the water. They particularly enjoyed picking up the various stones, watching leaves float along with the current, and crossing the areas with the stronger current to see how it felt on their legs. Those kids were so happy to get their feet in the water and I’m excited we found such a perfect, peaceful, quiet little gem.