Thought of the Day: Happy Friday friends! What a crazy month it has been since the last time I did one of these. By crazy, I mean I have done a whole lot of nothing except overanalyze every decision I make like, “maybe I shouldn’t have gotten that drive thru coffee yesterday because the barista wasn’t wearing his mask over his nose” or “I probably shouldn’t have let Rory get so close to his friend when I dropped off food for my friend” or most importantly “do I send or not to send my toddler to preschool this year”. 

I’ve basically decided that no decision I make for the next six months is going to feel right. That’s okay, I’m sure you all are feeling it too. 

There’s no great answer for anything. The cons are constantly yelping, and the pros are only confident enough to say, “maybe it will be okay”. 

The only comfort is that you aren’t alone in this feeling. Parents, teachers, administrators, neighbors, friends. They’re all trying to navigate what is “best” right now. 

The most considerate thing to do? When someone tells you their decision about something say, “I know you have done a lot of research and thinking about this, and you are making the best decision for your family.”  

Anyway, that’s my Friday thoughts. We still don’t know what we’re doing about preschool and neither does the school. The good news? It will be his first of 2 years of preschool so it’s not completely necessary (besides the fact that it will break my heart if he doesn’t go because all he asks for lately is to play with other kids). His safety and his little brother’s safety are our first priority though.  I pray for all of you parents and teachers who don’t have a choice in the matter for your older kids. 

Activity of the Week: We have been trying to go hiking every weekend lately. It’s something we feel confident about in regards to social distancing, and that fresh mountain air really does refresh the soul. We did the Caribou Ranch Open Space trail for the second time this summer, and it is beautiful up there. It’s about 4.8 miles round trip, and it is toddler/kid friendly (i.e. no scrambling or steep inclines). It will be amazing in the fall because there are Aspens everywhere! Pack a snack though because it took us about 3 hours total to do with the kids. There are picnic tables halfway through the hike near an old homestead, and they have bathrooms at the beginning of the trail. We went about 8:30, and there were only 3 other cars in the lot, but by the time we headed back around 11:30 the lot was full! I think that’s the moral of all my hiking stories: go early. If you’re looking for a moderate distance hike with your family you should check it out. It’s just outside of Nederland, so probably about an hour drive from the Lafayette/Erie/Longmont/Louisville area. 

Thing of the Week: We definitely end up carrying both of the kids by about a mile into our hikes, so a nice hiking backpack was a must for us. We have a Deuter Kid Comfort which is an actual backpack style carrier with ample storage space, a canopy, and a snap on pillow if your little one naps in it. My 17 month old does great in it (I just wish it could solve boredom!). I’m excited to share the other carrier we have because we get questions or comments about it almost every time we hike. My 3 year old is getting a little too big for the hiking pack, and he likes to look around, so I got my husband the Minimeis G4 for Father’s Day. It’s essentially a carrier that allows you to carry your kid on your shoulders without having to hold them. I haven’t personally tried it because I usually call dibs on the lighter kid, but it has been great for our toddler. It also folds up so you can carry it like a bag until you are ready to use it which is perfect for the kid who wants to walk the first mile or so, but then gets tired. Here’s the link if you want to check it out (I get no kickback from this!): https://minimeis.com/?v=7516fd43adaa