Serenity

Posted By on March 8, 2015

Yesterday we went to Tyler Arboretum, a favorite place for our family. Mark wanted to see what it was like in the snow, and thought that Sam would enjoy exploration of nature in such a new way. I was really tired and wasn’t going to go, but Sam asked me to and drew me this adorable picture of the two of us hiking to show me that I truly was invited on her trip with Daddy.

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When we got there, we didn’t see pretty much anyone except a lone cross country skier. He advised us to stay to the paths as much as possible since there was a lot of ice and snow out there, but he did note that we were dressed very appropriately for our hike, complete with hiking sticks. The only part of the arboretum that was cleared was the paved path, which is to be expected. It was fairly walkable, but we did hit a few large patches of ice that made it better to walk on the snow.

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We stopped for a minute to rest on a nice bench. Sam loved it because it was all purple, just like her.

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Early on, Mark decided he really wanted to visit the meadow, one of our favorite places. That of course meant hiking across a field through the snow. We found quite a few sets of deer and other animal tracks and Sam set to exploring.

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After a way through the snow (Sam didn’t complain at all, I must say) we made it to the meadow. We didn’t see anyone the whole time we were in the arboretum except a few more people on cross country skis. It was so incredibly peaceful, and quiet. Except for Sam. No quiet there. But she had a blast playing in all the vast, pristine snow.

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It was such a great place to take pictures that we couldn’t resist a few.

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I love this one. Sam learned how to make a heart with her hand and she does it all the time now.

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After resting on yet another bench for a while, Mark took out his binoculars to see if he could see any wildlife. He noticed a deer stand that we hadn’t seen before so he and Sam set off across the meadow to see it. I actually took this picture of them from a really far way away, by holding the camera up to the binoculars. Not bad! Mark went up first and Sam climbed right up after him.

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They hung out for a while looking around from on high, then headed back.

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We took the snowy route back and avoided the paved path because we thought it might be more interesting, and we came upon such a pretty spot, I just needed to stop and take it all in. And of course take pics of my wonderful family.

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We almost made it back to the end and Sam made this tiny little snowball. She desperately wanted a picture of it.

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We had such a great time. It was totally worth the cold and the snow and the exhaustion. Beautiful! Why we never did that before, I have no idea, but I am sure next winter, we’ll be doing it again.

One Response to “Serenity”

  1. Debbi Plenn says:

    Sam is such a cute little snow bunny

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