First Hike of Summer Vacation

 On Desert Boy's first day of summer vacation, I took the morning off so we could go for a hike while Desert Girl went to her last day of preschool. We invited some friends and started at the gravel pit. The kids ran free and migrated to the steep slopes.

They thought it was so much fun to be able to climb where ever they wanted and then slide down.

I climbed up one side for an overview of the gravel pit and the hill we were going to climb.

When we started off on our hike, it quickly turned into a lizard hunting expedition.

The baby horned lizards weren't too hard to catch.

As soon as they let one lizard go, they would find another to chase.

These collared lizards are really neat looking.

I am always impressed by how well the horned lizards blend in with their environment.

We managed to keep moving uphill despite the numerous lizards.

And then we were all at the top!

Aidan wanted to go check out the nearby peak.

The clouds were building, so we didn't stay up there too long.

We took a slightly different way down and found these neat fossils.

The kids also took the time to stop and smell the desert cacti flowers.

And found bones.

It was a wonderful hike. We got back just in time for the last ten minutes of recess.

The graduating preschoolers stood together with new bags of goodies from their teacher.

And here's Teacher Gwendy with them. She's had such a big influence on them, starting off their academic careers. These three are very well prepared for kindergarten, knowing all their letters and even sounding out words, writing numbers and doing some simple arithmetic. The best part is that they can't wait to do more. And I'm so appreciative of preschool because they've learned how to share and get along with their peers. And only take one activity out of a time and put it away before getting out the next one.

Thanks so much, Teacher Gwendy!