Two Big Firsts

In addition to be Susannah's first Thanksgiving, this weekend also featured Susannah's first 5k race and her first hike. 

On Thanksgiving morning, we headed to Balboa Park to run St. Joe's 5k.   It is dog and stroller friendly.   They even give the dogs bandanas to wear.   

Here we are walking to the start.

We were a little late, as you can see from the throngs of people ahead of us on the bridge. 

Here we are when we finally made it to the start.   We were behind the walkers and were having trouble navigating with the stroller and Meadow, so we ended up cutting off about 1/2 mile at the beginning of the course to make some room for ourselves.   It was a wise decision because the rest of the run was fun.  We did feel a teensy bit guilty when we crossed the finish line though.  

Then on Saturday, after watching UGA beat Georgia Tech (GO DAWGS!), we headed to the base of Stonewall Peak to take Susannah on her first hike.   Here is the peak from the parking lot.

And from the trailhead.  Looks pretty daunting, huh?

Even more so when you put this on your back.   But this was a special moment for Peter and me; a moment we have been looking forward to for over nine years now.    When we were still in college, we traveled to Yellowstone National Park together.   And every time we saw a family with a baby on the trails, we would talk about how one day, we would have our own baby in a backpack.    So we were pretty giddy as we started up the mountain. 

The blue sky was another inspiration as we climbed.

And climbed.

And climbed.

Susannah loved riding with Dada.

As we neared the top, we navigated some boulders.

But the view from the top was worth every step.

It was really windy, so we only stayed long enough to snap these pics.

It was amazing though.

You could see for miles and miles. 

As you can see from this picture, Mommy was a little more impressed than Susannah, but she was a trooper overall and we are already looking forward to our next hike.    Thanks Campoamors for lending us the pack!

  Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving.  Yep, I'm going to say it again.......Don't forget to go shopping for all the women in your life at www.stelladot.com/whitneymallory.  There are tons of gift ideas under $50 and even under $30.    Please take a moment and check it out.   You can find the perfect gift and feel good about where the money is going.     Or, even better, check out www.compassion.com to find out how you can sponsor a child and change a life forever.