Johnson Trail hike

We hiked out from the Johnson trailhead with a few other families.

The back of the truck was so handy to get the kids fed and dressed.

THen we were off, the trail was a bit muddy.

We had to go off trail because we saw some moose.

 Group shot

 Me and my little hiker

 I fell into a mud hole.

 The kids on the bench

 Van rock climbing at the end of the hike.

Honesty

Andy: "Don't even think about opening that packet"
Van: "Well I am thinking about it, but I won't do it."

Garbage pick up

The afternoon started with dirt.
Van dug a hole in the dirt pile at Svea's house, filled it with mud, and then covered it with dirt. He called it a mud trap.

Once that was in place, we came back to our yard and played with trucks and rockets.

But then I saw some garbage in the woods and we decided to do our first annual spring neighborhood garbage cleanup. I used to do this with my dad when I was little.

Van was excited about it.

Here are some good quotes from picking up garbage:
"Why do people do this? They don't understand nature."
"Now we have to clean up their mess."
"The garbage men are going to be so happy because now they don't have to pick up the woods."
"This is the best day."

and

"The policemen are going to be super happy with us."

Recently Van tried to throw something out the car window and we had a big talk about littering and how much trouble you can get in for it. So that is how he associated picking up garbage with the police. We may have over exaggerated the consequences of littering.

Here is the crew bringing the wagon up the hill.

 Van pulling the wagon.

Getting some garbage.

Using his grabber to pull the wagon.

The smaller garbage picker upper.

A team effort.

We found a tupperware and Van said, "We could use this again!"
Then he got excited and separated all the garbage. In the bag in garbage and in the bucket are recyclables.
I attribute this recycling knowledge to quality TV programming. The shows these days are teaching them to be responsible citizens.

Uh-oh we ran into trouble with a bottle frozen into some ice.

So we had to call in the expert.

Van was up for more, but there was a grater working on the road and the little one was getting tired, so I loaded them all up and we headed for home.

Sure enough, this little garbage picker upper was exhausted. Van and I went upstairs for a bath and shower.

Van came downstairs first, and 'decorated' Esther.