the magical forest

Before my parents left on Mother's Day I told them they should stop by the county park right by our house to see the wild flowers. I had a feeling they would be in full bloom because the ditches by our house are stunning this week. As they left I gave them directions how to get there. But while I waved goodbye I said to Rory, "actually, that's what I want to do...I want to go to Stair Step Forest too."

So we packed the kids up and drove half a mile to our favorite, magical place. We parked our car close to my parent's car and took the many steps down into the forest valley and then took the trail assuming we'd meet up with them on their trek back at any turn. But my parents hiked an impressively long hike, and therefore we did too. The funny part was how excited we all were to surprise them, even though we had just spent the whole day together!

My mom was taking pictures of every kind of wild flower, eager to look them all up when she got home. The forest floor was covered in white and purple flowers, but Mom was finding even more that we had been walking right past. We walked a little further with them and for our first time made it out to the river! We were so proud of our kids for making the trek and were rewarded by a stunning view and celebrated by throwing rocks into the water.

The day was so lovely. There were no bugs in the forest, something we were all keenly aware of because we know they are coming. It was a lovely hike on a lovely day with my lovely family. And Hattie and I were quite impressive in our trail hiking agility.