We participated in our EIGHTH Hike It Baby 30 Challenge this month, an initiative to get families to spend more time outside. These challenges are always so fun for us, because we keep a detailed record of all the memories we're making. I don't always keep track of how long we're outside on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis -- but I always do during challenge months. This time, we spruced our mileage tally up a bit. Every time we walked / hiked a mile, Braxton (sometimes with Bethany's assistance) colored in a rectangle until our chart was full. They loooooved this part!
Most of our miles were logged from walking around our beloved neighborhood, taking in the sights and sounds of home. We always get honked at at least once every time we walk our streets, and it's one of my favorite things. I love our small town and the friends-turned-family it has given us over the course of our lives! I especially love that friendliness is something my kiddos are familiar with because of this, too. I had the best neighbors growing up, and I am grateful that my little ones know the power of good, dependable company at an early age, too.
During this challenge, we logged a total of 38 miles between the pavement and the trails, and spent 111 hours outside during the month of September! That's an average of 3.7 hours outside each day. Considering that we've also been trying to get into the swing of school for the first time, I am especially proud of these numbers! I think we are all definitely happiest when we are breathing in fresh air, so it's a fun to be intentional in making sure we get as much of it as possible into our systems. Extra perks if my kiddos can get dirty while breathing deep, too. LOL!
I remember being quite (ahem) emotional last September, because I was expecting that to be the last fall challenge with Braxton with us for all the miles. One blessing of Covid-19 has been all the time we've been able to spend together as a family, and this challenge was one of them. My first baby hiker got to be with us for every mile, and we even got to spend two "school days" exploring in both SC and NC. What a precious gift! These are the days that become memories so quickly, and I'm thankful for the gift of more time and adventures with both my babies in tow. E-learning may not be everyone's favorite thing, but (unpopular opinion comin' atcha...) I have genuinely loved it.
Here is a glimpse of our fun month, doin' what we do...
Trail Hikes: 3
Trail Miles: 6.5
Total Miles: 38
Total Minutes Outside: 6,630
p.s. 2020 may not have looked like we all thought it would, but there is still so much good all around us. Look for the good, friends. A small act that does wonders for the soul!