After our San Diego Rennaissance on Monday, we decided the kids needed some exposure to the outdoors as well. Upon hearing the news that we were going out on a hike, Anna grabbed her Crayola suitcase and said, “I’m going to wear a dress.”

After a short explanation of why wearing a dress on a hike is generally a good idea, she suggested that she could bring her magic wand and turn all the scraggly bushes and dirt into soft and fluffy things. We compromised on turquoise corduroys.

Our expectations were low, and although we brought a picnic lunch, we fully expected to go about 100 feet before Anna ran out of energy and patience. I had Tara in the backpack, and Anna was on foot. Surprisingly, we made it about a half mile in, where Anna was very interested in the various leaves, and rocks found in the canyon preserve, and there was even a stream where Anna and I dropped leaves in the flowing water, watching them race away from us.

We sat down an ate our sandwiches and oranges and pureed sweet potatoes before returning the way we came. Anna petered out with about 1/4 mile left to go, but we were able to coerce her back to the car with out having to carry her. We found on the way that we could have driven more directly to the interesting place in the canyon, closer to the stream, and will probably give that a try next time, or even try out hiking near the coast.