Snowshoeing to the Ice Caves

On Sunday, a friend of mine invited us to go snowshoeing with her family. Pete and I have not been out up here yet, so we were super excited to go. The drive ended up being a little longer than I expected, so I wasn't prepared enough in regards to Charlie. He had no Rocky to nap on the way there, and of course he fell asleep 2 minutes before we pulled into the parking lot. It was a definite test getting a cranky, sleepy boy dressed for an outdoor adventure, and Pete and I thought for a minute we weren't going to get to snowshoe. Once we got Charlie's stuff on him and we started moving, he was happy. We had 6 adults, two 2-year-olds, a 1-year-old, and two dogs in tow. The boys, Charlie and Joe, were either pulled in a sled or walking along with us (the snow was packed down enough for them to walk most of the time), and Anna, the 1-year-old, was in a backpack on my friend Shannon's back. It was about a half hour trek back to the ice caves, and it was one of the coolest things I have seen. There were a lot of people, and dogs, there. Once we got some pictures and took a break for a bit, we decided to head back. It wasn't long until the meltdowns started. Anna and Charlie were done. We finally ended up laying Charlie down in the sled and covering him with a blanket. He cried for about 5 minutes, then passed out the rest of the way back to the car. It really was a great little outing.... minus the meltdowns. It was so nice to get out and enjoy the winter with some new friends, and hopefully we'll have many more adventures after this! Hey, if we can do this with the kiddos, we can do anything!