This past weekend’s Easter adventure was filled with family, activities, outdoor adventure, and memory making. In that same breath, there was no running or fitness activities for this marathon training while tapering Mama. I am learning to embrace the flexibility with marathon training because sometimes all you can do is be flexible and compromise your activities.
The boys were home with me on Monday for part of their Easter holiday break. My plan was to take them on the trails for an easy-ish 8 mile run while they ride bikes. Well…. best laid plans don’t always work out.
I was up all night (Sunday night) with a sad T-man who had an ear ache. Even though I didn’t get much sleep, I was up early with the two older boys who were ready to tackle the day. T-man slept in till 10:30 when I finally woke him up. Yawn. I was seeing my opportunity to run falling through my fingers very quickly.
Our morning was spent snuggling, snacking, and starting week 2 of our #BeBox family devotionals. After lunch we set off for our day’s adventure. It was a gloomy, foggy, light rainy day. The boys were determined to NOT go for a bike ride… but were up for a hike. Game on!
After our weekly trip to the public library, we headed to the lake to explore some new-to-us trails. We even took Daisy-dog with us for some fresh air, adventure, and exercise.
We explored two new hiking trails. The first one was by the Smithville dam and looped around an offset pond. We found a lot of neat critters, fallen sticks, and flowers starting to bloom. That hike was just over a mile. Mama wanted to cover more distance… and the boys were showing they had excess energy to get out.
So we headed to a second trail… this time one by our house. It was a quiet (until we got there) gravel 2.5 mile loop.
We were the only ones out there. I even let Daisy off her leash for some exploring, sniffing, and fun. We all got wet, a little muddy, and a lot of fresh air.
The boys had a great time finding and collecting big sticks. They used them as walking sticks, swords, javelins, weapons and more. Thankfully all sticks were left on the trail… for us to enjoy the next time we visit.
The boys love picking flowers for their Mama. Once person may see a weed… my children (and most young children) see a beautiful flower they want to bless someone with. The trail was sprinkled with colorful flowers alongside the trail.
Every few minutes, you would hear my oldest yell as he charged from behind, “FOR NARNIA!” and then three little boys would run past me… yielding their swords (sticks) immersed in complete imagination world. The owies from this imagination world were: 1 scraped and bloody knee from falling while running, one sore head from a thrown rock, and one emergency bathroom need gone bad.
When the boys weren’t yelling, arguing, or throwing ROCKS at each other… I took a step back and enjoyed the sweet moments of friendship the boys shared. The last stretch back to the van I watched P&C chat about life. The two older boys don’t have a very close relationship, so it was sweet to see them share a few special moments together on the hike.
Dirt mound climbing. Rock throwing. Stick yielding. Mud stomping. Boy yelling. Imagination on overdrive. Hike.
The days adventure was not how I had originally planned it. I did not get my run in… but I did enjoy the special hiking adventure and memory making with my boys. Motherhood and marathon training is all about learning to be flexible with compromise. I may not have run those 3.5 miles… but I did move my feet and was active.
Learning and teaching my boys to enjoy nature, get active, get outdoors, and spend time together… I call this day a win in my Mommy-book.
Stephanie says
What an awesome adventure! Life as a mom is anything but boring. Cherish it all, these are the days your boys will talk about when they are adults with children of their own!
Nicole @ Fitful Focus says
This got me reminiscing about when my sister and I would go off exploring in the woods searching for fairies. I wish I still had that imagination!
Farrah says
I haven’t gone hiking in such a long time! :[ This looks like a lot of fun–I need to go explore the area I live in sometime!
Kathryn @ Dancing to Running says
I can’t remember the last time I went hiking, which means its been way too long. I need to change that!
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner says
I do like hiking but don’t have the opportunity to do it too much around here! It’s hard to get my troops mobilized now that they are older bc everyone is always off in a hundred directions.
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home says
That looks so fun and brings back some great memories for me! I sure miss those days…
Annmarie says
We haven’t been outside since oh, I don’t know, Fall since the weather here has really been a crap shoot, but looking forward to getting active in the next few weeks as the weather gets warmer! 🙂
Diatta @ Femme Fitale Fit Club says
My children act like the trails are full of cooties! But seriously I normally don’t take them out because during the week I am at work and they are at school and weekends were made to recuperate. But the few times I did take them out not sure they were able to really appreciate the nature around them. I love the Narnia movies!
Tricia says
That looks like fun! Makes me wanna go exploring.
katie says
Yeah for adventure and flexibility! I understand that scenario more than you know!!
Larisa (0to26point2) says
We are totally an outdoor family. We love exploring new places and things. Great job on the outing. Love those moments.
jill conyers says
If running has taught me anything it’s mental flexibility. It’s a key to less stress training.
MCM Mama Runs says
Sounds like a great time was had by all. I kicked my boys off of electronics on Monday and they actually ended up playing together, which pretty much never happens (they are 4 years apart). Win for all of us.
Artney @ My Pretty Brown says
No children (yet), but I’d love to go hiking, so hopefully my hubby and I can try it out this spring! I hope that when I do have kids, they will be adventurous! It looks like you all had fun.
Sandra Laflamme says
Such sweet moments! I love kids and wish they could stay little and curious and silly forever. You and your boys have such great times together!
Marcia says
I love hiking and exploring with the kiddos. I just wish it would warm up a bit here and stop raining so we could do so.
Maureen says
This totally made me want to pick up and go for a hike! I love that you let your kids do kid things like play with sticks and jump in the mud. Way to go Mom! 🙂
GiselleR @ Diary of an ExSloth says
I’ve always wanted to go hiking but I’m terrified of snakes and there are a lot of them in the forests that I grew up in. My dad and I used to go for uphill runs though which were a nice substitute.
Toni @runninglovingliving says
Looks like you had an amazing day and you stayed active. Flexiblility during marathon training is key to success and it also allows you to enjoy a beautiful day with your kids guilt free.
Carmy says
I would love to go hiking! It’s so nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I usually run in hiking trails for that reason.
Marjorie says
Ah, reminds me when my kids were a bit younger and I hadn’t introduced them to mobile phones, tablets and computers yet. We could always go out and ‘wing it’. Nowadays, getting them away from their screens for 5 minutes is a task in itself.