hike it baby 30 | september 2016.

Today marks the end of our second Hike it Baby 30 Challenge, and I am (as always) a proud mama! We participated in our first challenge in April, and Braxton was barely walking on his own. That being the case, all of the forty miles that we logged were ones with him on my back. This time, however, we focused more on shorter trails that he could do, and I kept track of the miles that he walked on his own two feet. So exciting!

We beat our goal of thirty miles with just over the same number of miles that we hiked/walked in April, but our minutes outside increased a lot. Four thousand minutes outside! WOW! I guess that's what happens when we walk at a toddler's pace, huh? Honestly, we spent more time outside than that, but I only logged what was associated with a hike or walk. We love being outside! Espeeeecially now that fall is starting to show itself. Something magical happens when the leaves begin to change colors and the temperature cools down. Swoon!

As proud as I am of the miles and minutes we racked up on this past month, I'm even more grateful for all the sweet conversations I got to have, new friends I got to meet, old friends I got to know even better, smiles I got to capture from the other side of the lens, hours I spent in the car singing nursery rhymes with my precious son, views I got to see alongside of some really special people, and prayers I silently lifted as I did each of the things just mentioned.

Hiking will always be more about the why than the what for me, and I hope that Braxton will one day take that same approach and learn to see the world with even better perspective and clearer eyes than his mama does. It's been less than two years since I became a mama, but I've already figured one thing out: kiddos catch on quick.

And my prayer is that the things he is learning from his daddy and me are things that will help build him up as he continues on his journey of becoming a man.

That's just one of the millions of reasons why getting outside is so important to me.

In a world so fascinated by technology, I just want to be fascinated with the handiwork that's all around me. And we want our little one to be, too.

Trail hikes: 7

Trail miles: 16.5

Total miles: 42.0

Total miles Braxton walked: 9.0

Total minutes outside: 4,180

I wonder where we will adventure to next. There is always something beautiful to see!